Bottling the Moon
by ARosySummer
Summary: Sakura seems to have her life all together. Has absolutely everything figured out. Yep, everything. Well, except that this new jerk in her life is complicating things a bit. AU SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1

Quick A/N here: I am most certainly not perfect, so let me know if you find anything grammatically wrong in this story that bothers you to the extreme and I will fix it! And if any of you are awaiting my return to writing HWA, then you are in luck as it is on my mind. Someday soon there shall be an update for it...But, in the meantime, enjoy this little number. :)

Chapter One

"Hey, do you mind reaching that for me? The Fruity-Os box up there on the top shelf." Sakura tried reaching for her favorite multi-colored cereal, but extending herself as far as possible wasn't enough. But she saw movement from the corner of her eye, and without looking she asked the random passerby for assistance.

She was met with silence, which was awkwardly extending past the normal pause for a reaction. She dropped her arm to her side and turned around, coming face to face with the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen.

Feeling stupid, she just stared at him, her mouth slightly open. There was no way that she was really acting like this, was there? This kind of thing only happened in movies, the mysteriously handsome stranger coming to her rescue…

Wait, but he wasn't helping her at all. He stared up at the box and back at her before turning his head the other way.

What?!

"I need help, could you please grab me the box?" she huffed. Handsomeness be damned.

He gave an annoyed grunt before easily reaching up, taking hold of the box before swiftly depositing it in her cart. Right on the bread.

"Hey! Watch it," Sakura raged and righted her grocery cart to her liking. She turned her head to tell him off, but he had already marched away, his back disappearing behind the end of the aisle. "What's his problem?" she grumbled to herself.

Her phone rang then, the familiar tune travelling from her purse to her ears. She shuffled through the bag's contents of receipts, tampons, hair ties, a brush, pens, and yes, more receipts, swearing she just cleaned her purse out, until she found the buzzing, ringing box.

She checked the name before answering and then said, "Hey, Hinata."

"Hey…" Hinata's timid voice came through the phone's speaker. "Naruto's having a party tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to it with me?"

Sakura instantly forgot about Mr. Grumpy and dove into the conversation. "Naruto, eh? The famous Naruto Uzumaki, the one you're so smitten with? So I finally get to meet him then?"

"Well, I guess so...if you put it that way."

Sakura let out a happy squeal and bounced around. She couldn't wait, Hinata had been talking of nothing but this Naruto guy since she started teaching at the high school with him. "Want to come over and get ready before we go?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, he actually lives in your building, so it's perfect."

"Seriously? What floor is he on?" Sakura kept her phone to her ear and put the other hand on the cart to continue her search for groceries.

"He told me he was in 406."

"Huh, he's two floors above me then. Wonder if I've ever run into him in the elevator." Sakura reached out and tossed a package of chicken breasts into her cart. "No, I think I would notice such a loud mouthed blonde with dazzling cerulean eyes, at least if you're description is correct," she joked.

Hinata's pause over the phone made Sakura snicker. The girl was so shy, she couldn't believe that Hinata was gathering the courage to even go to this party tonight. She must really like this Naruto guy.

"Okay, okay, I kid," Sakura relented while reaching out for a package of bread crumbs. "Let me finish shopping and I'll meet you at my place in about an hour."

"Thank you, Sakura." Hinata's smile was easily heard through her voice.

Sakura clicked the end button and raced around the store, not once catching a glimpse of the dark haired asshole from earlier. She didn't know if she was thankful or sad about it. Probably a little of both if she was telling the truth.

Everytime the checker rung up an item, Sakura felt the hit to her bank account. She grew up in a home where money was scarce, so she still had trouble spending any of her hard earned money. And now, it wasn't that she was poor by any means. No, she lived rather comfortably as a receptionist. Sure it wasn't her dream job, but for now it paid the bills. And boy did it ever pay the bills. She had to admit that working for Uchiha Publishing didn't sound like much, but when she walked into the building she couldn't believe her eyes. There was color everywhere, popping wall art and interesting chairs. The carpet had a fun zig-zagging arrow throughout the whole building, stopping right at the head publisher's office, Fugaku Uchiha.

Sakura had never actually met the guy, only seen him in passing. She was only ever in contact with his assistant to help greet clients he was meeting with and the like. Still, Sakura wasn't a complainer.

Plus she loved reading, and being able to have a job being surrounded by books was a dream come true. Living the dream and whatnot.

She stuffed the groceries in her car and moseyed on home.

XXX

"Black or purple?" Sakura called out from within her walk-in closet.

"Which one do you want to wear more?" Hinata answered.

Sakura grabbed both dresses and walked out to show them off. "They aren't for me, they're for you." She rolled her eyes and shook the two hangers in her hands. "I love you, Hinata, you know I do. But you have to change."

Hinata looked down at her clothing. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

Sakura quirked an eyebrow. "That dress looks like it's from the amish country. It's got absolutely no shape! We are going to a party tonight, you are going to talk with Naruto Uzumaki and you will be doing so while showing off your curves. You have a beautiful shape, show it off."

Hinata gazed from the black dress to the purple, really scrutinizing each one. The black one was a skin tight, mid-calf dress that had three quarter sleeves. It had a high neckline, but she wouldn't need to show off cleavage in it to look damn sexy. Sakura knew her friend would go for the purple one though as it was a bit less scandalous as the black. It was more of a lilac color, and had a rose pattern all over it. The v-neck was just low enough to pique interest and the cinched waist hit the whole thing out of the park.

Sakura gave herself a mental pat on the back when Hinata reached for the purple one.

"Will you wear the black one then?" Hinata asked as she stood up from her perched spot on Sakura's bed.

"Nope, I just wanted to see your reaction to it!" Sakura couldn't help but to giggle as she put the dress back in the closet. "I'll just wear some nice jeans and a shirt."

"How come I'm getting so dressed up then?" Desperation began to color Hinata's features.

"Because it never hurts to wear a pretty dress. Plus, you have your eyes on someone at this party, I don't have an agenda so I'm going with comfort over pizazz."

Sakura took out her favorite pair of jeans and shimmied into them. Reaching for the white shirt she was going to wear, the top was lace and just when it hit the collarbone it flowed down to the hips in a fun, loose way, Sakura heard her phone beep, signalling a text.

The shirt fell over Sakura's shoulders easily as she followed the chiming sound to her bedside table. She picked the phone up and saw the screen was lit up with none other than her ex-boyfriend Sai's text saying, "Hey, can we talk?"

"Nooo," Sakura moaned and threw her phone onto her pillow.

Hinata tupped her way in from the hallway bathroom now wearing the floral dress. "What's wrong?"

"Sai just called me."

For a moment, Hinata looked unsure of what to do, what to say. She settled on reaching out her arms and beckoning Sakura in for a hug. To which Sakura gladly accepted.

"I don't understand why he thinks he can just do that. Just talk to me like it's no big deal," Sakura mumbled into Hinata's shoulder.

"I know," Hinata cooed warmly, comforting Sakura through another Sai related meltdown.

Sakura was tired of this. She'd go around all fine, but then a memory of her and Sai going apple picking or dancing at a family wedding or cuddling up on the couch would pop into her brain. It's been two months since he broke up with her and all she wants to do is move on, but now he's forcing his way in again. Even with this little text, it brings it all back up.

She could feel the corners of her eyes being to sting, and she quickly pulled away from Hinata to fan her face. She would not cry over him anymore.

Hinata still stared at her, Sakura could see her worry through her waving hands.

"I'm okay, or I will be okay anyway," Sakura admitted. "Thank you for always helping me."

Hinata gave a kind smile. "Anytime."

Sakura didn't know what she would do without Hinata. The two had been friends since childhood, bonding over getting picked on by the other kids in their class. But a few years in, Sakura grew a tough skin and wouldn't let the other kids bully them any longer. This was their relationship, Sakura was strong, Hinata was quiet. And she had to admit, it threw Sakura off a lot now that the roles were reversed for once. But Hinata had taken up that strong mantle like it was nothing, holding Sakura up when she couldn't do it herself. And slowly coaxing Sakura out of her sad bubble to where she was finally feeling normal again.

Sakura shook her head and very pointedly decided to not look at her phone for the rest of the night, even opting to leave it behind in her apartment all together.

"All right, we better get a move on if we don't want to be late," Sakura attempted to bring the lightness back into her voice.

"We don't have to go, you know," Hinata offered.

Sakura shook her head. There was no way she was ruining this night for Hinata. "We are going, and we are going now."

She gave Hinata a gentle nudge to turn her around and then continued to push her out her apartment door. Sakura grabbed her keys from the key bowl before shutting the door and locking it behind her.

The elevator was taking its time reaching them, but then Sakura saw why when it finally arrived at her floor. It was packed with people. Sakura recognized none of them, well all except for Hinata's cousin Neji, but Hinata began rattling off names in greeting: Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Ten Ten, Lee, and of course Neji.

The two joined them in the elevator. Sakura smiled at the group. "Do you all work with Hinata then?"

The guy with the bad haircut and bushy eyebrows answered her, making sure to squeeze his way past everyone in order to be next to her.

"Yes, that is correct! My name is Lee, who might you be?"

Sakura was taken aback a bit by his enthusiasm, but still said, "My name is Sakura." He seemed nice enough.

"It is wonderful to meet you-" Lee was cut off when the elevator door opened and the group moved out automatically. Sakura gave him a quick smile but turned to walk down the hall, following a guy with a spiky ponytail who was lazily talking with a chubbier set man already munching on a bag of potato chips.

Ponytail guy knocked a few times and the group waited to be let in. Beyond the door, Sakura could make out "Sasuke, get off your lazy ass and get the door!" Then there was an indistinguishable low growl that she couldn't make out before the same booming voice replied. "I'm making ramen, I can't leave, this is time sensitive stuff!"

A few seconds went by before the door opened inward. The group began filing in one by one, but then Sakura was pulled aside by Lee.

"I know we just met, but I just wanted to tell you how beautiful you are!"

"Uhh...thanks." This guy was giving her the creeps. The only thing that was keeping her from not punching him in the nose was the fact that he was invited to this party, so he must be normal enough to be in the same group of friends as Hinata and Neji. "We should go in now."

Before Lee could utter another word, Sakura turned and practically sprinted inside. But, she pulled up suddenly, unable to take another step as she was face to face with the rude, handsome stranger from the grocery store. He was the one who opened the door for everyone, his hand was still on the handle, and his eyes roved over her in bored recognition.

"You!" Sakura shouted and pointed her finger at him.

"Me," he replied, his smooth voice wrapping itself around her in a velvet blanket she never wanted to be untangled from.

But that's besides the point.

Sakura didn't think about it, she just asked him outright, "Why are you such an ass?!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all for reading my new story and to those who reviewed! WOOT! Especially to chica-flick for being the very first one. :)

Chapter Two

His dark eyes narrowed at Sakura's outburst. "What?" His words were laced with venom, as if he couldn't believe what just came out of her mouth.

 _Well there's more where that came from buddy,_ Sakura thought.

"You heard me," she ground out through her teeth. "What was your deal at the store this morning. You were going to walk right by me after I clearly asked for help."

He rose an eyebrow and continued to stare daggers at Sakura. She could feel the weight of his glare throughout her whole body, but there was no way she would back down.

"Sasuke, is that true?" A blonde guy came around the corner to join in the little spat. He gave the jerk, Sasuke, a disapproving look. "That's not nice, I raised you better than that."

Finally, Sasuke took his attention off of Sakura and gave an even more menacing glare at the blonde, who Sakura assumed was Naruto by his appearance. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Check. Found Hinata's crush, and Sakura couldn't have been happier to have a slight distraction.

"You must be Naruto," Sakura interjected, turning completely away from Sasuke, but not without casting him one last irate look. "I'm Hinata's friend, Sakura. Thank you for letting me tag along tonight."

A broad grin stretched out across Naruto's lips. "Any friend of Hinata's is a friend of ours!" He gestured around the room.

Sakura followed his movement to see that everyone had pretty much sat down, save for Hinata and Lee, and they were all staring at her a bit apprehensively. Obviously a little concerned over the heated encounter between her and Sasuke.

Sakura wouldn't let it ruin their night, so she decided not to bring it up again. She took a slow breath through her nose and thought about how important this night was for Hinata. No, she would not ruin it for her best friend. She was not going to let some gorgeous snob get the better of her.

She plopped down in the nearest chair, a gigantic bean bag chair, and let the silence fall into place around the room. She wasn't really sure how to get out of this awkwardness, so she was hoping that someone would take the hint and move on to normal topics.

Apparently that wouldn't be the case.

"So you two already know each other?" the woman with bun pigtails slowly broached. Her eyes nervously going back and forth between Sakura and Sasuke.

Well, fine then. If they all wanted to talk about it, then Sakura would talk about it.

"Sasuke was about to ignore my plea for help in reaching my desired cereal, but then I asked him again. He grabbed the box and threw it on my bread. Maliciously!"

Sasuke snorted from behind Sakura, causing her to disregard her previous promise of not looking at him for the rest of the night.

He flicked his wrist and just as the door shut with a snap, he locked eyes with her, once again trying to silently will her to back down.

"Don't be so dramatic," he countered. "It was not malicious."

"Whatever," Sakura waved him off. "Semantics. The point is, you still were rude to me when I did nothing to offend you."

"That's Sasuke for you," Naruto chimed in, claiming a spot on the three person couch in front of Sakura. "Rude to even his closest friends." He then made a mock hurt expression, holding his hand to his heart as he looked as Sasuke with puppy dog eyes.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything more. She didn't understand how someone can be so nonchalant about their best friend being so rude to everyone without seriously talking with him.

"Are we just going to state the obvious, or are we going to kick this thing off?" the chubby guy eating the chips blurted out.

"Just like you Choji to dive right in," the spiky ponytail guy said as he shook his head, his words rolling off his tongue leisurely.

"Choji's right, Shikamaru," Naruto said. He clapped his hands together in front of his face and scooted all the way to the edge of the couch. "It's time forrrrrrr-" He then bounded to his feet and ran out of the room, down a dark hallway. When he came back just moments later, he held in his hands a small box.

"Jenga?" Hinata timidly observed.

"I saw this online and thought we should try it out! You know, rather than the usual 'Never Have I Ever' or 'Truth or Dare.' Those games were getting old."

Sasuke walked into the circle finally and took a seat on the floor to the right of Sakura. She bristled a bit by his choice of seating, but kept her mouth shut.

"They were getting old because you kept losing and making a fool of yourself," Sasuke said cooly.

Naruto ignored him and placed the box on the table, shimming the pieces out of it so that they remained stacked on top of each other neatly.

But, when the box was completely lifted, Sakura could see that the blocks had scribbles all over them. "Why are they drawn on?"

Naruto reclaimed his seat and gestured for Hinata to take the seat next to him. Sakura cut her gaze quickly to her best friend to see her reaction and she was not disappointed. Hinata blushed a deep red and slowly put one foot in front of the other to make it to Naruto's suggested seat.

Sakura couldn't help but give a slight giggle, to which she saw Sasuke turn his head in her direction, giving her a weird look. She just stuck her tongue out at him in return. Adulting at its finest.

"How do we play?" Sakura asked.

Naruto took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket, the edges heavily creased as if he'd already opened and refolded it a bunch of times. He nodded to himself as his eyes scanned across the sheet's contents. "There's rules on the blocks. When you pull it, we'll see what they make you do."

"I'll go first!" Lee shouted and leaned over the coffee table to pick out a block.

"Hang on," Naruto countered and dashed into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and the sound of glass clinking filled the space. "We all need these." When he came back, he passed out a beer to each player and then set the extras down next to his legs.

Lee slid one of the blocks out and flipped it to see the broader side. "Take three?"

Naruto burst out laughing. "Oh man, you would get that one you lightweight! That means you have to take three drinks."

Lee hung his head. "Oh no, what have I done?"

Sakura gave him a questioning look, but then Naruto leaned in and grabbed the next block as Lee drank three times from his beer.

Naruto gave a puzzled look at the block and then had to look at his paper. "All right, this one says 'Hand Switch,' which means that I get to pick anybody I want to only play with his left hand for the rest of the game." He looked around at the group with a devilish smile on. "It's too bad Sasuke is already left-handed, so instead I choose Shikamaru!"

"Tch, why you gotta be like that?" Shikamaru complained, closing his eyes and pinching the brim of his nose.

"'Cause the block said so, don't disrespect the blocks or they will bite you in the ass," Naruto said intensely. "Your turn, Hinata."

Interesting. The way Naruto spoke Hinata's name was very gentle, and Sakura picked up on that right away. Like a hound following a scent.

Hinata fumbled with a bunched up part of her dress before slowly reaching for a block. She read aloud, "Down the Hatch."

Naruto stilled and looked at Hinata with a frightful expression. "You have to finish your drink."

"Seriously?" Sakura couldn't hold in her outburst. "Let me see that paper, you didn't even look at it!" She grabbed the paper from its place on the table before Naruto could stop her. She quickly scanned down a list of names until she reached the one Hinata pulled. "He's...right."

Sakura looked up at her dear friend. She could see the absolute horror on Hinata's face. The girl really wasn't a drinker to begin with, and now she had to down the whole beer.

Slowly, Hinata reached for the bottle and brought it to her lips. Sakura could feel everyone's anticipation at watching quiet, bashful Hinata chug a beer.

Sakura had to give the girl credit, she finished her drink. Albeit not at the chug, chug, chug speed, but slow and methodical. Everyone cheered for her when she put the bottle down on the coffee table. Sakura looked around and everyone looked just as shocked as she felt, all except for Sasuke that is. He just watched on with mild amusement.

"You're up, Sasuke," Naruto said, still beaming from Hinata's triumph.

"Bipolar?" Sasuke asked about his block.

Sakura looked for the explanation on the sheet and read, "Insult the person on your right, compliment the person on your...left." She looked from Sasuke and then down to her own lap. Wait, that meant...her.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're just making that up."

Reflexively, she defended herself, her cheeks heating up from his accusation. "Am not! See for yourself." She shoved the paper in his face.

He snatched it and eyed the thing slowly. He tossed the paper to the table and turned to Hinata. "You're too shy," he succinctly stated and then turned to Sakura. "And you." His eyes searched her features as if looking for what he was going to say.

Sakura gave a cocky smile. "Me?" She made fun of his reaction to her earlier outburst at the doorway.

Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You aren't the ugliest person I've ever seen."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. What a piece of work he was.

"That wasn't very nice," Sakura quipped, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sasuke shrugged. "I did my part, now take your turn."

Sakura huffed, wanting so badly to reach out and smack him across the face, to give him a nice, red outline of her hand along his cheek.

She took a deep breath in through her nose and then out her mouth, forcing herself to calm down. She took a block at the end of her exhale. "Hands Across America?"

She found the rule way at the bottom and a myriad of emotions flooded her system as she did. "You must physically touch the person to your right for the rest of the game."

Her gaze drifted to Sasuke who momentarily looked panic stricken, but slipped back into his cool guy facade a few seconds later. His grimace made Sakura happy for this particular block.

If he was so unhappy with the idea of touching her, then she would make this as awkward for him as humanly possible.

She scooted her beanbag over so that it was pushing up against Sasuke himself. She then plopped down and leaned into him, their arms making contact. Sakura's confidence left her momentarily at the warmth of a guy's skin. She hadn't been intimate with anyone since Sai and the last time they even did anything was months and months and months ago. A jolt ran through her, a mixture of excitement and uncertainty.

Sasuke grimaced at their point of contact, which made Sakura focus better. She only enjoyed this because it was making Sasuke uncomfortable. No other reason whatsoever. None.

Well there was the fact that Sakura couldn't believe she was this close to someone so freaking gorgeous. But that was purely and unconditionally secondary.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi! :) Not sure what I want to say, but it feels weird leaving this spot blank...On with the show!

Chapter Three

The rest of the party went by in a blur. Partly because Sakura kept picking out pieces that made her drink, she probably was the one who had to drink the most in her opinion.

And all through the night Sasuke did not make her life any easier by refusing to move when it was her turn, forcing her to awkwardly hold onto his knee as she extended her other arm towards the tower.

In the end, because of this, Sakura was the one to make the tower tumble, eliciting howls of laughter and teasing from the circle. Naruto brought out a fresh bottle of beer for her then.

"What's that for?" Sakura eyed the drink suspiciously, a drip of condensation trailed from the neck to the table.

Naruto gave a wicked grin. "It's for you, you have to chug the whole thing since you lost. And you have to finish your current drink, too."

Sakura looked down in horror at the drink in her hand. It was still half full!

She gave a horrified look to Hinata, but then instantly turned a glare on Sasuke when he snorted.

"What?" she seethed at him.

He shrugged his shoulders, inching away from her now that the game was over. "You don't have it in you to chug it all."

Her nostrils flared in anger, in determination. Oh, was she ever going to prove him wrong.

She tipped the bottle back and shut her eyes, not opening them until the rest of her drink was gone. Without thinking, she took the other one, twisted it open, and threw it back right after finishing the other one. Vaguely, she heard some people cheering her on, but she wasn't paying them any attention. She was on a mission to shove Sasuke's doubt up his stuck up ass.

"There," she slurred. "I freaking did itt." Putting the bottle down was difficult as the table kept moving away from Sakura, but she managed to do it anyhow. "Pay up, pretty boy."

Sasuke's eyebrow rose as he watched her. If Sakura wasn't so drunk, she may have thought she saw a surprised smile on his face, but that must have been pure nonsense.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Hinata's voice gently floated over to her.

Sakura swivelled her head around and then the room slowly followed suit. "Never better."

She turned around and threw herself back to get into the beanbag chair, except that she completely miscalculated and landed on the floor right in front of Sasuke. Sakura looked at him, giggled, and in that moment saw him from a different point of view, unburdened from loathing for the tiniest of seconds.

"You know, you kind of look familiar."

She stared at him for a second longer before getting up and crawling over to him, moving her face mere inches from his own. His eyes were wide as they took her in.

Sakura hiccuped, which lead into a fit of laughter. She angled her body to the right, falling against his inner thigh and rolling down onto the ground once more. She stayed there in her world of giggles and poked Sasuke in his side.

"What a grump butt," she laughed.

Sakura felt hands wrap around her shoulders and hoist her up then. Her head lulled forward and when she righted herself she saw Sasuke was the one holding her.

He looked at Hinata as he asked, "Where does she live?"

Sasuke began shuffling her towards the door, grabbing his keys and shoving his shoes on, all without letting her go.

"She's in 202," Hinata squeaked, getting up herself. "You don't have to worry, I can take her back."

Sasuke looked shocked at hearing they shared the same building. Sakura reached her hand up and poked his nose.

"Didn't know you were just minutes away from me, huh?" she teased.

Sasuke swatted her hand away and sighed in frustration. "Just worried that I could run into you more often."

Sakura pushed him away, opened the door and began walking to her apartment. "Fine, then I don't want to see you anymore than I have to."

She awkwardly began the trek to her place, but made it just a couple steps before she needed to lean against the wall for support.

The door shut behind her and once again she had Sasuke's hands encircling her arms, guiding her down the hall.

"Where's Hinata? I don't want you."

Sasuke shrugged. "Let the idiot have time with her. He's been wanting to have a reason to meet with her outside of work."

"The idiot?" Sakura puckered her lips. "Who?"

Sasuke was silent. "Nevermind. Let's just get you home."

They arrived at the elevator then. Sasuke pressed the down button and they waited, listening to the everpresent hum of the machine.

During that time, Sakura tried to remember that she found Sasuke annoying, that he was a rude jerk. But her brain just kept meandering back to the fact that his face was perfect and so was his hair and his eyes and the rest of him.

"What?" Sasuke asked, catching her staring at him.

Sakura tensened. "Nothing!"

Sasuke chuckled under his breath. "Annoying."

The door chimed with its arrival, opening wide for the two of them to walk through. Sakura remained silent for the ride, just wanting the dreadful walk to be over. She couldn't be happier when they got to her floor and walked the short distance to her door. She fumbled a bit to get her keys out of her pocket, but was ultimately able to succeed.

The door squeaked open into her dark apartment. She reached around the wall to flip the light switch on, illuminating her cozy furniture within the place.

"My humble abode," Sakura announced, admiring it for a moment before shuffling through the entryway. She turned to Sasuke then. "Thanks, I guess, for walking me back. You're still a jerk, though, so keep that in mind."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the doorframe. "I've been called worse."

"I bet," Sakura laughed. "But I'm sticking with the jerk level until I see the true horror that is the attitude of Sasuke."

He smirked and jokingly said, "Yes, true horror."

She stared dumbly at him in silence, dreading the way it stretched out between them. But it was broken by something she hated even more. That damn ringtone that signalled Sai was texting her again.

She groaned and brought her hand up against the doorknob. "I have to go now. Hopefully I won't see you on the elevator and such."

Sasuke's eyes scanned past her and into the apartment, no doubt wondering as to why the sound was making her so grumpy. But, when his eyes came back to hers, there was something in them that shone with mischief.

"Wouldn't want that," he muttered, knocking once on her door frame with his knuckles before walking back in the direction of the elevator.

She didn't poke her head out to get one last look at him, electing to instead shut the door fully, turning the deadbolt lock until it clicked into place.

She shucked her flip flops off and dragged herself to her room. She was starting to feel more level headed, but just enough to walk in a straight and slow line to her bed, where she unceremoniously plopped down face first.

Well aware that her phone was a few inches away with more of Sai's texts just waiting to be answered, she shoved that thought to the back of her mind. When they were dating, Sai wouldn't give her the time of day, so why should she give it to him now?

No, right now she wanted sleep. She wanted to forget about exes and confusingly handsome jerks. Sakura effortlessly willed herself to sleep, a state in which she thought about nothing and no one. A peaceful sleep she'd been wishing for during these past few months.

XXX

Hinata came back late Sunday morning with a bag of bagels and cream cheese in hand. Sakura wasn't hungover per say, but she was still feeling sluggish, so the food was a welcomed sight for sure.

"I am so sorry for how I acted last night. I was awful," Sakura gushed as she gave Hinata a hug.

Hinata wrapped her arms around her. "It's fine, Sakura. You just had bad luck for the whole game. I probably would have passed out if I drank as much as you did."

Sakura groaned. "And I made such an idiot of myself."

Hinata threw a pity smile her way. "No one thought anything of it. Lee kept falling down everywhere after Sasuke brought you back."

Sakura's face instantly warmed at the mention of Sasuke walking her home. If she ever saw him again, she would run the other way, hiding from the humiliation of it all.

Hinata dropped the bag on the counter and hiked her purse higher on her shoulder, securing it better. "I just came to drop these off. I have to get going."

The blush painting her cheeks perked Sakura up. "Where are you going?"

"Naruto asked me to get breakfast with him," she said, eying the ground and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "He asked me last night before I left his apartment."

 _At least one good thing came of last night_ , Sakura thought.

"Well then, go on, get out of here," Sakura waved her out the door. "Don't want to be late for your date."

Hinata smiled warmly, and Sakura couldn't have been happier for her friend in that moment.

"Feel better," Hinata offered before shutting the door.

And then it was just Sakura and the bagels. Which was fine with her as she wouldn't have it any other way. Food was nice to her, it never made her angry or feel worthless.

Sakura scoffed as she thought this. _Great, how sad is it that I'm feeling that way about my food?_

Sakura spend the rest of her day nibbling on bagels and watching sitcom reruns. Time ticked by and slowly she began her Sunday night routine. She picked out her work outfit for tomorrow, brushed her teeth and washed her face.

"Tomorrow will be better," Sakura told herself as she stared into the mirror.

Oh, but it wasn't any better. Sakura slept through her alarm clock, inadvertently shutting it off in her sleep. She rushed her shower, got dressed and grabbed a banana as she zipped out the door.

She was fortunate enough to live so close to her work, she only had to sprint a couple of blocks to make it to the building. She yanked the shining glass doors open and awkwardly speed walked to her desk.

Ino was sitting there with a smug expression on her face.

Ugh, how Sakura detested her. The woman spread gossip about everyone in the office, Sakura's name being the most frequent in the rumor mill.

"Good morning, Sakura," Ino cooed with false sweetness. "Tsunade told me to fill in for you because you were so late. Why are you only coming into the office at 10:15 a.m.?"

"Slept in," Sakura ground out. "Now get out of my chair."

Ino sent Sakura a superior look before elegantly lifting herself from the chair, her long blonde hair swaying back and forth as she walked away.

"You picked a really bad time to be late," Ino maliciously smiled, angry at Sakura for being so abrupt with her. "The CEO's sons are in and there was no one here to greet them. Pity."

Sakura's blood drained from her face, her features becoming colder and colder as she broke out in a frantic sweat.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no.

This was it, she was going to lose her job. Tsunade was going to kill her.

She slowly sat down and began organizing her papers. She was so out of sorts that she didn't notice someone was standing in front of her desk until a throat cleared.

"So sorry, how can I help you…" Sakura stopped, her brain ceased its functioning as none other than Sasuke himself stood before her in a suit and tie, and just past him was the CEO and another young man with similar features waiting to exit the building, looking expectantly over at Sasuke.

She turned her attention back to Sasuke, who was smirking down at her in a knowing way.

And then it hit Sakura as to why Sasuke looked so familiar to her.

His full name was Sasuke Uchiha, and he looked very similar to his father, Fugaku Uchiha. The CEO of Uchiha Publishing.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: MAN! So I am getting married, and wedding planning is no joke. You know, I thought I was prepared with all my pinterest boards and such, but why does everything have to cost an arm and a leg? Anyway, that's my current state, so make sure to give me some lovin' during this stressful chapter in my own life! XD

Chapter Four

Sakura's blood pounded in her ears at the realization that Sasuke was her CEO's son. And there he was just staring smugly down at her like he knew the whole time who _she_ was and loved that she had no clue on the other way around.

"No," she breathed, the word slipping from her mouth in an unbelieving whisper.

"Yes." Sasuke smirked before jamming his hand into his pocket. "See you around, Sakura."

He turned to follow the lead of Fugaku and the other young lookalike, most likely his brother. With one last glance before exiting the building, Sasuke sent her one more of his trademark smirks and then vanished.

She instantly began hyperventilating.

 _What have I done?_ She internally panicked, dropping her head straight onto her keyboard. The keys digging into her forehead, but she paid them no heed. Instead, her full attention was on piecing together her actions from last night. The embarrassment crept over her, the mortification unbearable.

 _I called the CEO's son a jerk, fell on him drunkenly, and poked him. Twice!_

If Tsunade wasn't going to fire her for being this late when the CEO's sons were here, then her actions towards Sasuke would definitely send her packing.

She pulled her face from the keyboard and dropped it into both of her hands. Somehow she had to get herself out of this mess. She hated even the thought of apologizing to Sasuke, but this was about her source of income. She needed to stay and if begging for forgiveness would keep her employed then she would begrudgingly take that path.

Resigned to her fate, she took a deep breath and pulled herself up. Looking around, she saw no one around to take in her exasperating display.

But not five seconds later, Tsunade came barreling around the corner, her face red enough to look positively eruptive.

"SAKURA HARUNO!"

Instinctively, Sakura shrunk in her chair and eyed her supervisor with resigned terror. "Good morning."

Tsunade halted in front of the desk. "Where have you been?! I've called you several times with no response from you." She leaned in closer, blonde pigtails falling forward off her shoulder, and seethed, "Today, of all days? You made me look like an ass in front of the CEO."

Sakura put her hands together in front of her face and bowed her head. "It won't happen again!" No, getting drunk with the CEO's son and making a fool of herself would certainly not be a recurring event. "I'm so, SO sorry!"

Tsunade straightened, pushing her hair to be at her back once again. "I'm marking this in your file and giving you a written warning. If it does happen again, you'll be fired."

Sakura slumped her shoulders, eyes stinging at the last word.

Tsunade fixed her with a stern gaze, but them melted a bit at the sight of Sakura trying to hold back tears. "Just, Sakura, don't let it happen again. You're a good employee, but I can't have the CEO on my ass like that again."

Sakura eagerly nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to keep the tears from flowing.

Tsunade sighed, turned around and left the way she came. Still, no one else was in the lobby area but Sakura. Hopefully, Ino had been long gone and not snooping on the other side of any of the doors.

Sakura let five seconds pass before eagerly going to the internet. Her fingers couldn't type his name fast enough, and then countless pictures popped up. Sakura scrolled and scrolled through them, each one had him looking more handsome than the last.

She clucked her tongue and scowled at the screen. Exiting out of the search engine to go on _FindFriends_ , she searched for him there, too. Nothing.

Her fingers tapped, annoyed, on the mouse before she searched for another name instead.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Not surprisingly, his account wasn't private.

And Sakura ate it up. He had photos with Sasuke that went back for years. From even before high school.

Graduations, birthdays, holidays, everything. Some pictures were posed, and then some were candid. The posed ones were the hardest to look at. Sasuke had this weird expression, like it was a burden to smile in any capacity. But, when he didn't know someone was snapping pics, he was completely different, much more relaxed.

Sakura stared at pictures for a bit longer, but then finally decided that her behavior was in fact a bit stalkerish and that she should stop because she had some dignity after all. She quickly exited the page and that was that.

Tonight, she was going to go...apologize. She grimaced at the thought.

XXX

With each opening of the lobby door, Sakura eagerly looked up and greeted each guest, helped them get where they needed to go. She couldn't tell if she was glad that Sasuke didn't make another appearance, or upset about it. Happy because it would be longer before she had to face him, upset because she would have to do it on her time off of work.

This went on for the rest of the workday, and Sasuke hadn't come back. Neither had his father and assumed brother.

There was a moment of weakness where Sakura contemplated looking that man up, but didn't want it to lead to more Sasuke stalking and whatnot. So for now, she was just going to assume a man that handsome had to be his brother.

To take her mind off the last few minutes of the work day, Sakura texted Hinata.

S: 'How was your daaaaaaate yesterday?'

H: 'It was great, he brought me to this ramen shop that he wouldn't stop raving about.'

S: 'Ramen? I thought you guys went out to breakfast?'

H: 'We did. A bit odd, but I didn't mind.'

S: 'You have got yourself an interesting man haha! ;)'

Hinata didn't respond for a few minutes. Sakura snickered, knowing that the woman was no doubt blushing furiously and overthinking every interaction that she and Naruto had on the date.

Sakura threw her phone in her purse and shut her computer down. Following her normal end of the day routine, Sakura pushed her chair in and made sure that there was no clutter on her desk. The building automatically locks the door at 5 p.m., so no public access is granted from then on, so Sakura didn't have to worry about locking up or waiting for those stragglers to finally get their act together at 5:30 p.m. Nope, Sakura was up and out of there, ready to be back in the comfort of her apartment.

The evening air was just beginning to turn brisk, fall looming just around the corner. Sakura carried that thought with her on her brief walk home, of how her favorite season would soon be knocking, which meant sweaters and jackets galore.

The thoughts were nice and actively kept thoughts of what she had to do tonight away for a bit. Yup, Sakura was riding this stage of denial until the bitter end.

When she got back to her apartment, she hung her purse up on the coat rack to the left of the door and threw her keys in the bowl. Schucking her shoes off, she plopped down on her couch, burying her face into the little pillows she had on display there.

She groaned helplessly and begged for her body to nap, but her brain was too active now. Too aware of a certain someone just a couple floors above.

 _You know what, screw this!_

Why was she on trial? Well, Sakura knew all that she did over the weekend was embarrassing, but still! Sasuke was just a stranger to her, and he acted like he knew her from the beginning. He was the one who had to answer a few questions!

Hastily, she grabbed her keys, shoved her feet into the slippers she wore to get around the halls, and locked her door. The elevator button was going to be permanently jammed in from the force she threw at it, and she peeled out as soon as the doors opened with a ding, her shoulder slamming into one of the sliding panels.

403\. 404. 405. 406.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Sakura crossed her arms after pounding her fist against the door, having actually shaken the thing on its hinges from her ferocity.

A shadow covered the peephole before the door hesitantly opened up. Naruto stood on the other side looking flabbergasted.

"Sakura?" With just the way he spoke her name, he asked, ' _What in the hell was going on?_ '

"Where's Sasuke?" she huffed, trying to peek around Naruto to get a better look into the apartment.

Naruto's shoulders sagged. "What did he do now? I thought things were fine with you guys?"

He angled his body, inviting her in. She stood awkwardly just as she passed through the door, not knowing where to go. She wasn't comfortable enough with Naruto to just take her shoes off and make herself comfortable. Besides, she was on a mission here.

"He's the son of my CEO!" Sakura ranted, waving her hands in front of her rapidly. "And the jerk knew I worked there. I don't know how, but he _knew_!"

Naruto took a seat on the closest chair, waving for her to sit down as well. She did not.

"I want to know how!"

Naruto sighed. "Listen, I don't know you at all. I didn't even know that you worked for Sasuke's old man. But I'm not going to lie to you. Sasuke has been studying business for years, so he's probably learned all about the workers in his Dad's company because he plans on running it someday soon."

The air left Sakura's lungs. "Sasuke's going to work there? He's going to be my boss?"

Naruto swayed his head back and forth a bit. "Yes and no. Fugaku plans to pass it on to Itachi, but Sasuke thinks he can do a better job of it."

"I still don't understand why he didn't tell me outright that he knew me."

Naruto shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, making his blonde mess even more helpless. "He's a prick, but he's a good guy. Why don't you ask him?"

"That's what I wanted to do now!" Sakura cried. "I came over here to tell him off...well, it was originally to apologize, but now I'm past it...nevermind...Where is he?!"

Shimmying his phone out of his pocket, Naruto illuminated the screen. "Should be back over in a few minutes actually."

"Then I'll wait." Sakura sat down in a huff and kept her eyes on the door. Ready for that moment when the handle would turn so she could attack, back Sasuke into the corner and make him give her answers. He was going to get what's coming to him by one furious Sakura.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Update on my life: Wedding planning is in full swing! Picked out a ceremony venue and a reception venue. :) I already feel less stressed from having those two things fall into place. Yayyyy! Now everything else though! XD

Chapter Five

Sakura was beginning to lose hope that Sasuke would actually show up. She tapped her fingers against her leg, impatiently willing time to move faster.

She groaned and asked Naruto, "He does actually live here, right?" She had really only assumed for some reason.

Naruto nodded, starting to look uncomfortable. "We've been here for about three months now."

Huh. Sakura stored that bit of information away in her brain. How she hadn't had a run in with either of them in such a long time was odd. But then again, maybe she did see them before and not notice. She and Sai only broke up a couple months ago, and it was only recently that she'd started getting back to normal.

So maybe she did see them, but it was in her hazy break up vision and she just couldn't remember.

The sound of keys jingling in the lock broke her from her thoughts, and she sprung from her seat. Right as the door pushed open, Sakura was in front of Sasuke, unwilling to move so he could step into his own apartment.

He looked down at her in shock at first, but then a more amused look graced his features. "Sakura."

She stomped down the butterflies that appeared in her stomach and forced her anger to take over her whole body instead. "What's your game here? What are you up to?"

He lifted an eyebrow at her. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb!" Sakura balled her hands into fists. "You knew I worked there, so why didn't you say anything to me about it when we met?"

His eyes scanned over her head into the apartment, no doubt probably looking at Naruto.

Sakura turned her head to see Naruto walking down the hall and closing his bedroom door, successfully pulling himself out of this tangled mess.

"Could I come in now?" Sasuke drawled.

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Not until you answer me."

He rolled his eyes and leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. He was still in his suit, and in his right hand was a briefcase. "I thought it might help me."

"Help you? With what?"

Sakura shifted her weight from her right leg to her left, and in that moment Sasuke took advantage to sneak by her into the apartment. By the time she swung around he already had a smug expression on.

She reached behind her and slammed the door shut. "You're unbelievable!"

He shrugged and placed the briefcase onto the coffee table, all the while loosening his tie with his other hand.

Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Please, just say something."

The room stilled; Sakura just kept concentrating on her breathing, and then she opened her eyes slowly. Sasuke was looking at her, deep in thought.

"I don't like people knowing about me," he admitted.

With her eyes glued on him, she tilted her head in question, her eyebrows slightly pulling together.

"Are you going to get me fired?" she finally asked the most pressing issue that was filling her head.

Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets. "I need your help. I need you to get me some information on an upcoming meeting with Konoha-Toon."

"Konoha-Toon? The kid channel?"

"Yes, that's the one." Sasuke looked as comfortable as ever just standing there, whereas Sakura no doubt probably looked awkward as all get.

She waved her hand in front of her face. "Why would I help you?"

He gave her a smirk before pulling out his phone from his pocket. He scrolled through and tapped a few times before swiftly turning the screen in her direction.

Sakura took a step forward and horrifyingly realized what video he was playing.

"How did you…?" Her mouth hung open as she continued to stare at the phone, watching herself fall all over the place drunkenly and touching Sasuke.

The worst. This was the worst.

Sasuke had actual proof of what an idiot Sakura had been that night.

No. No. No. No.

"You're blackmailing me," she said.

Sasuke paused the video and put his phone away. "Call it what you want, but I need your help regardless. And if you do, I'll delete it."

"How did you even get it in the first place…" Sakura thought out loud, thinking on the camera angle she deducted it way "Naruto."

She stomped down the hall and banged on his bedroom door. "How could you?!"

Naruto didn't answer, no doubt cowering under his blankets, hoping the angry woman would leave him alone.

Sakura huffed and paced back to Sasuke. "If I help you, that video gets deleted. And I want to be the one to do so."

"Fine," Sasuke conceded.

They simply stood there, Sakura glaring daggers at him.

"What do you want me to do exactly?" she ground out after she couldn't take any more silence.

He jumped right into it. "My father is allowing me and my brother to run the upcoming meeting as a sort of test, to see who will do a better job. He has information on his work computer that will allow me to better understand what exactly it is that Konoha-Toon needs from us in order to make a contract work."

Sakura's head spun. "You want me to sneak into the CEO's office and look at his private files? Are you _insane_?"

He blinked at her.

"How would I even pull that off?" Sakura quipped and began ticking off her fingers. "I don't have any of his login information. He never really leaves his office. We have security cameras in the building. His assistant sits right outside his door. Do I need to go on?"

"Do you want the video deleted or not?"

Sakura pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth, mulling it over. "I just don't know how this is going to work."

Sasuke sighed. "Just dress up as the cleaning crew and go in at night."

Sakura frowned. "That was a quick response. If you already had that idea in your head then why didn't you just do that? Why make me go through with it?"

He smirked. "It's beneath me."

"Oh," Sakura seethed. "But not beneath me, huh?"

His eyes danced with amusement, but he said nothing. He just kept teasing her with those haunting eyes of his.

She waved her hands frantically and began walking in a small circle. "Whyyyyy?"

Stomping her foot once, she turned back to face Sasuke. "You know what, fine! You stupid, idiotic prick, I will do it. And once I finish the job, I'm going to snatch that phone and break it in half!"

She turned and left, not wanting to look at his stupid face for a second longer.

By the time she got to her apartment, her strut had turned into more of a stagger.

"What have I done?" she bemused aloud, leaning her forehead against the outside of her apartment door, her fingers spread out, covering her entire face in horror.

She dropped her hands to open the door, and once inside, she called Hinata and told her everything.

"Calm down, Sakura," Hinata consoled over the phone. "Everything will be okay."

"How can you say that?" Sakura lay on her bed, her one arm slung over her eyes while the other held the phone up to her ear. "If I go through with it, I could get caught and get fired. If I don't go through with it, who knows where Sasuke will post that video? Everyone could see it, and then I'd get fired."

Hinata let out a shaky breath and kept silent. Sakura could picture the exact scrunched up, worried expression she was making as she thought it all over.

"I don't think you'd get fired if he posted the video."

Sakura thought on it. "Yeah, you're probably right, but I think I would self implode if anyone else saw it. Especially Ino." Sakura shuddered at the thought. "She'd have a field day with it."

"So you're still going to go through with it?"

"Yeah," Sakura replied. "I just have to come up with a plan." Ideas were formulated themselves in her brain, thinking this way and that on how to pull off such a crazy stunt.

Her phone began chiming in her ear, signalling another incoming call.

"Hang on, Hinata, someone's calling me." Sakura brought the phone back to see an unknown number on the screen. She clicked on the dancing green circle to accept the call. "Hello?"

"His passcode is Mikitasuke." Sasuke's voice came over just as smooth over the phone as it did in person.

Sakura scrambled for a pencil and pad of paper to scribble down the odd word. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Whatever." He shut down her question. "You ran out so fast that you didn't let me tell you any of the important details."

"Hey, wait." Sakura tapped her pencil a few times on the paper, creating little gray dots peppering the surface. "How did you get my number?"

"I need you to find something in his files labeled Konoha-Toon. Print it all out and bring it to me as quickly as possible."

Sakura's mouth fell open, unable to speak due to his sheer pig-headedness. "You aren't answering any of my questions."

"No," he spoke confidently, the smirk evident in his tone. "I'm not."

And the line clicked, cutting off the conversation.

Sakura switched back over to Hinata. "Dumb Sasuke," she grumbled.

She could almost feel Hinata patting her on the back as she said, "Do you need me to help with anything? I can help."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks, but I'll be okay...Somehow."

They said their goodbyes as it was getting on later into the evening. Sakura still musing about how to get her hands on one of those cleaning crew uniforms. She was going to have to stay late tomorrow at work to pull it off.

She just pleaded to anything or anyone that would listen to her that she would come out of this on top.

XXX

Sakura felt on edge at work the whole day, jumping at the tiniest of sounds or motions. Her nerves were fraying with each passing moment, and she was practically forcing herself to not go home at the normal time (or just using sick time and going home early for that matter).

She chewed the end of her pencil vigorously, looking around as the computer screen displayed 5:00 p.m., making sure no one would notice her slip off into the recesses of the building.

She made it down the hall a few paces before hearing that all too familiar and annoying voice of Ino. Sakura panicked and threw herself through the nearest door, which happened to be a dusty utility closet.

Shadows clipped by, Ino's voice growing softer and softer the further she became. Sakura breathed out in relief that she didn't have to go through with that encounter.

Sakura turned her phone flashlight on and looked around. She almost dropped her phone from happiness when she saw a pile of folded uniforms sitting in the back corner on a shelf. She scooted over to them and took a tentative sniff. Just a bit of dust, they obviously hadn't been worn in a long time, if ever at all.

She quickly locked the door and changed into the uniform, and then shoving her hair under a cap she brought from her place to hide her tell-tale hair.

She patted her thighs and a cloud of dust erupted causing her to cough.

 _Well, Sakura, part one is miraculously, astonishingly and shockingly down. Onto the next one._

She hoped that it would be that easy for the rest of the night.

A piece of cake.

Hopefully.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry! But, I am happy to say that I am sooooooo much less stressed out now that we have finally booked a wedding venue! Guys, it was STRESSSSSSFUL! But now I feel like half the battle is over, and that means more writing. :) Yay!

Chapter Six

The dark, empty hallways were a piece of cake, very little anxiety to be had there. It was when Sakura emerged onto the main floor where she started to get hot, sweat forming beads along her forehead and at the back of her neck.

Most of the people were gone for the day by now. There were a few people typing away trying to make some deadline, but they didn't pay Sakura any attention as she strolled passed row after row of cubicles.

She kept her head down and, even though she was fighting against it, she kept her hands nice and relaxed by her sides rather than having them balled into tight fists.

Sakura recalled her amazement at such an office on her first day of work. But now, now everything around her was an annoyance. Why was the place so big? Why were there so many plants around making it hard to see if someone noticed her? Did her footsteps always echo like this? How come it had to be such an open floor plan, anybody could see her!

She bit down on the inside of her cheek to silence her thoughts.

 _Get a hold of yourself, Sakura!_

She saw a small recycling bin filled with discarded papers and scooped it up, her hands thankful to finally grip onto something. Though she finally realized how badly her arms were shaking by the way the contents of the bin were jumping all around.

Taking a deep breath, she rounded the last corner before the CEO's office. His assistant's desk was still inhabited, but Sakura could see that beyond was an empty, grand office. Emphasis on empty, thank goodness.

She ducked behind a nearby cubicle and set down the recycling bin. To pass the time, she pretended to perform actual cleaning duties. She dumped another recycling container into the one she brought up, smooshing the paper down to the bottom of the bin. She pushed in chairs and straightened up anything that had fallen to the floors, all the while keeping her eyes on Fugaku's assistant.

 _Come on, leave already!_

It wasn't for another five minutes that the lady began packing up her things. During that time, Sakura picked up the now full recycle bin and brought it somewhere out of the assistant's sight so that she wouldn't bring any unwanted attention to herself. When she finally found a bigger bin to dump everything into, Sakura put her hand up to her forehead, resting it against her open palm.

She honestly could not believe that she was doing this. She felt humiliated and scared. Humiliated at having to do what Sasuke told her to do, scared that she would get caught and need to explain her whole messed up situation. This was a nightmare.

With her back turned, she heard the click, click, click of heels walking away from the CEO's office. She dared not move until the quick sounds could no longer be heard.

She stuck her head out and looked around. No one in sight.

Making her move, Sakura kept a tight hold of the recycle bin as she strolled over to the office. She opened and closed the door with confidence, but the moment she looked at the computer, this daunting pressure overtook her.

She felt dizzy, nauseous even, as she trudged to the desk. Her feet like cement blocks being dragged through the mud. Sakura wouldn't even be surprised if the ground opened up for her to be swallowed up through that dark sludge.

Somehow, her hand found the power button for the computer, and she waited as the screen booted up. She about had a heart attack when the sounds came through the speakers as the computer finally registered that it was on.

The passcode page stared at her unflinchingly.

As her fingers jumbled across the keypad to spell out _Mikitasuke,_ whatever that meant, Sakura still had no idea. Again, more successful sounds as the computer accepted the word and opened up to the desktop screen. Which was basically empty, the only thing visible was the trash bin in the upper left corner of the black screen.

 _Yeesh, how does this guy run such a fun company with a screen like this?_

She went into the documents and found the Konoha-Toon file that Sasuke had his stupid heart set on. She clicked on it and gagged.

There was so much in the file! How was she supposed to print it all and not get caught? She'd be sitting here for at least an hour waiting for the entire print job.

"Dumb Sasuke," she grumbled. "Stupid ass jerk face."

She turned off the computer screen and exited the office. Rather than printing them all off, she was just going to copy them to her flashdrive she kept on her key ring. Which was tucked away in her purse. In her desk.

All the way back in the lobby.

She was just about calming down as she rounding the last corner on her way to the desk. But fate was cruel as she ran smack into Ino.

"Hey," the blonde yelled. "Watch it!"

Sakura ducked her head down in fear, but it was too late.

"Sakura?" Ino asked, voice filled with confusion, which then turned into one of mockery. "Why are you dressed like that?"

She sighed but kept on walking to her desk. Ino right at her back the whole way.

"Why are you here, Ino?"

Ino waved her off. "Don't deflect. I asked first." She just couldn't wait to get her hands on some juicy gossip.

Sakura slumped into her chair, not daring to make a move for her purse until she got Ino out of here. "I wanted to see what it was like to be a janitor, so they let me do it for tonight."

Ino raised one of her perfectly sculpted brows. "Are you serious? What kind of a loser would want to do that?"

"Hey," Sakura snapped. "Don't talk down on them like that."

Ino just smirked. "I was talking down to you." She dug out her phone and the flash went off in Sakura's face.

Her hand went up as soon as she saw it, and she bent her neck down. Ino stomped her foot and huffed in annoyance.

"I want one with your face in it, look at the camera nice and proud, Sakura."

"Get out of here!" Sakura kept looking down at the floor and waved her hands in Ino's direction. She was not about to be blackmailed for a second time this week by another idiot.

"Well, at least I'll always have the memory of this." Sakura could hear the satisfaction in her voice. "I don't want to be rude and run off, but I have a date."

"Who'd want to go out with a bitch like you?" Sakura sneered.

Ino was silent at the insult, but quickly recovered. "An Uchiha, that's who."

And she walked out. Sakura looked up in time for Ino to disappear down the sidewalk and the door to shut tight.

 _Does she mean? No, no way._

She steadied herself against the desk and opened the drawer that contained her purse. She dug around for her keys until she felt the familiar metal brush against her fingers. Her phone screen lit up with the motion of her hand and she saw there was a text waiting for her.

She tapped on the screen to see the text preview. Sasuke.

"Come tomorrow with it, I'm busy tonight."

And that was it.

No, no it couldn't be. Sasuke Uchiha didn't really have a date with bitchy Ino.

Well...why did she care? She didn't. She most certainly did not care about what that jerk did in his free time.

And really, how dare he? He would go out with Ino while she was off doing his dirty work? What the _fuck_ was up with that?

She gripped her keys hard and slammed the drawer shut. Now the march to the office was easier, nothing filling her mind except for thoughts of Sasuke and Ino on a date while she was here suffering.

That was it, she was going to get this over with and get the video deleted. Never again would she subject herself to being in that asshole's presence ever again.

Time passed in a blur. She got the information from Fugaku's computer, successfully copying over all the files related to Konoha-Toon. She shut it down and left, heading back to the closet where she found the extra janitor's uniform. Then before her mind could register what she was doing, she was grabbing her purse and walking home. But, she didn't go to her floor. No.

No, she wasn't going to listen to Sasuke's instructions. She was going to sit in his apartment and mess up his night. If he was going to bring Ino back to his place then his fun-filled night was going to be put on hold. He was going to face her and send Ino away instead.

Naruto swung open the door before she even got the chance to knock. Her hand raised awkwardly up between them, ready to pound the poor wood to oblivion.

"Uhh…" Sakura let out ever so eloquently.

"I heard you from all the way down the hall," Naruto admitted. "I wanted to spare my poor door from your wrath."

She crossed her arms in front of her. "I'm going to wait for Sasuke to get home tonight." No room for Naruto to disagree.

Naruto sighed, resigning himself to step aside and let her through.

"Is this going to be a regular thing now?" he asked, leaning up his back against the door as he shut it.

"If he wasn't such a jerk, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably, pulling his phone out of his pocket with his free hand.

He unlocked it and Sakura lunged for it.

"What the-"

She got the phone and ran to the bathroom, locking the door. Naruto rattled the knob and yelled her name, but she paid him no heed. Instead, she searched for his videos until she found the one he took of her drunken self. She cringed as it played for a few seconds before she deleted the damn thing.

With that done, she opened the door to a furious Naruto.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

"YOU!" she snapped. "You started this with that freaking video you took of me. So if you want to start asking why I'm acting the way I am, it's because of you!"

Naruto was taken aback as Sakura walked passed him and into the living room. She plopped down on the couch just like the last time she was stuck in there waiting for Sasuke to return.

Naruto made an awkward return and sat down with her.

"I'm sorry," he admitted, his voice warm with meaning. "It was just so funny to watch and to see Sasuke react that way. He's never like that."

"Like what?" Sakura was honestly confused. She's watched that video, and yet nothing about Sasuke's actions were screaming out to her as bizarre or radically different.

"I don't know...flirty?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"That was flirty?" Sakura couldn't help it, the words just left her mouth on their own.

Naruto just bobbed his head back and forth, swaying in his seat on the couch. "That's Sasuke for you. I've known him a long time, I can just...I don't know, I can just tell."

Sakura was still skeptical. "Why is he flirting with me then and then going on a date with Ino?"

Naruto's mouth hung open, but before he could answer, the sound of a key entering the apartment door lock sang through the space. Sakura's head snapped in its direction, waiting to look smug as she crashed his date.

When the door was open just a bit, Sasuke locked eyes with Sakura. He didn't seem all that surprised to see her there. But, Sakura was just waiting to see the look on Ino's face when the rest of the door opened up.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Not surprised you wouldn't listen to me," Sasuke drawled as he opened the door and stepped inside, followed promptly by no one.

Wait.

Where was Ino?

Sakura jolted up and ran for the door, passing Sasuke to look down the hallway. No one there walking away or waiting to take the elevator down.

She turned back to him, annoyed. "Where's Ino?"

He levelled her with a stare. "Why?"

"While I was busy tonight doing your dirty work, you were off having a freaking date with her." She crossed her arms and set her mouth into a grimace.

"For your information, I was not with Ino tonight. I wasn't with anyone for that matter." He brushed her aside and dropped his keys onto a nearby side table.

"But Ino…"

Sasuke turned and rolled his eyes.

"She meant your brother," she deduced.

"Yes," his voice smoothed over her dumbfounded thoughts as his fingers worked to loosen the knot of his navy blue tie. "For whatever reason, Itachi has taken up relations with Ino Yamanaka. I don't know why."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I am not interested in her love life."

Sasuke caught her eye and slowly smirked. "Oh, but it seemed like you were very concerned that she would be with me tonight."

Sakura's body tensed, her face flooding with warmth. "That's...that's just because I was mad at you!"

"Careful, Sakura," Sasuke teased. "People may think you were jealous."

She huffed a few times, her chest expanding and deflating at an alarming rate. What was going on, this wasn't supposed to go this way!

"Sakura?" Hinata called out quietly from behind her, the shock in her voice bringing Sakura to break her state of hyperventilation.

Without saying a word, Sakura stared at Hinata. Anything to be able to look away from Sasuke and his stupid smugness for the moment.

Hinata's eyes widened at the state of her and she quickly rushed to her side. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sakura squeaked, her voice too high for her own liking. "What are you doing here?"

Hinata gave her a knowing look, calling her bluff in an instant. But, bless her, she dropped the subject. "Naruto and I are going to the movies. He was supposed to meet me at the front entrance, but that was a few minutes ago…"

Naruto gasped. He tapped his phone screen and groaned at the time. "I'm sorry, HInata! These two distracted me." He jumped up and grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and shoved them into his back pocket. Grabbing Hinata around the shoulders, he began to escort her out.

Hinata twisted in his arms to look back at Sakura. "Are you going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine," Naruto answered for her. "Just a little lover's spat."

And he shut the door.

"It's not a lover's spat!" Sakura bellowed at the piece of wood, knowing that her scream could be heard even through the blasted object.

"Che." Sasuke didn't bother to correct anyone, he just started to meander down the hall to his room.

Sakura followed close behind. "Where's your comp - Woah!" She turned around at the sight of him unbuttoning his shirt. "Warn a girl next time!"

"Usually they tend not to complain."

Sakura could not think of a single thing to say to that. Instead, she covered her eyes with her hands, even though she was facing the opposite way already. Walking away, she could barely make out the path through her fingers, but she managed to make it back to the living room.

A few beats later, Sasuke came out dressed in some sport shorts and a black t-shirt. His lingering smirky smirk smirk face just made her mind do a repeat performance of his shirt opening button by button.

Before she could literally start fanning herself, she asked, "Where's your computer?"

Sasuke bent down to reach under the coffee table. He brought his hand back with a slim black laptop. He sat down on the couch beside her and flipped the device open, then wordlessly held out his hand to her.

She sighed and handed over her keys. He flipped them around so he could jam the flashdrive into the correct portal.

The laptop screen came on and he clicked through to get to the file about Konoha-Toon.

Sakura watched his eyes as they scanned the file's contents. Up and down, back and forth, until he finally turned to her.

"Thank you, this is everything I need."

The earnestness in his voice shocked her, she didn't think Sasuke capable of such sincerity. But there he was, actually thankful for her retrieval of the information.

"You're welcome. Now hand it over." It was her turn now to hold out her hand to him expectantly.

She felt a bit of victory as Sasuke stared at her hand in confusion for a few seconds. Though he quickly realized his mistake. His head snapped away and Sakura could have sworn that there was a twinge of pink adorning his cheeks. However, when he looked back at her, his face was completely normal.

HIs phone was in his hand, but he wasn't handing it over.

"Give it," Sakura urged, making to snatch it from him.

He pulled it out of her reach.

"Come on, Sasuke," Sakura whined. "You promised."

He unlocked the screen and pointedly made an effort of showing Sakura that he was going into the media app, scrolling until he got to the video and then he tapped the delete button. The small window popped up saying that the video would be deleted indefinitely, making sure that it was the action that Sasuke wanted to take.

He gave her a pointed stare, making sure that Sakura's eyes were on the screen. His eyes turned back to the task at hand, clicking the yes option, yes it was okay to delete the horrible, embarrassing blackmailing video from his phone.

Sakura let out a slow breath, putting her hand to her chest in relief. Finally, this terrifying chapter in her life was over, she could go on living her normal life. Well, whatever her life looked like these days.

"Thanks," Sakura said. "Now copy over the files so I can have my keys back."

Sasuke wordlessly followed her instructions for once, copying over the folders to his desktop. He then deleted them from her flashdrive and made to eject it, but then stopped, the cursor just sitting there on the eject button, but his finger had failed to actually click it.

"What's this?" he asked, moving the cursor over to another file on her flashdrive. "Bottling the Moon?"

Sakura lunged at him.

She had no control over her body, all she knew was that she had to stop him. And that involved tackling him to the ground, of course.

"Don't look at it!" she screamed, trying her best to keep him down while simultaneously yanking out the flashdrive from its port.

The door opened then, Naruto walking in only to stop at the scene before him.

"Uhhh…"

Sakura and Sasuke both looked at him from the ground. Sakura straddling the dark haired man beneath her, Sasuke's hands gripping her hips.

"I forgot my wallet," he lamely said, hand frozen on the door handle.

Sasuke got a hold of himself first, shoving Sakura back onto the couch as he righted himself.

Sakura couldn't help herself, tears sprang to her eyes at the awkwardness of the situation. Her fingers curled tightly around her keys and she ran out of the apartment, back to her own safe space.

She slammed her door shut and slid down to the floor. Her face overheating and tears slowly leaking from the corner of her eyes.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked herself, voice heavy and wet.

All these situations she's been getting herself into lately have all been so terribly mortifying. The video, Ino catching her in the janitor's uniform, Naruto walking in on her and Sasuke in a completely misinterpreted situation. Since when had her life just gotten away from her that fast?

She wiped her face off with her sleeve and shoved herself up off the ground. She stripped down right there to her undergarments, not giving a single shit since this was her apartment, she could do whatever she wanted in it. She reached up to grab a bottle of wine from her wine rack that was situated on the top of a bookshelf, unscrewed the cap and took a drink straight from the bottle.

The couch was inviting her over with its extra pillows and throw blanket, so she gladly accepted the invitation, wrapping herself up in the blanket while taking another drink. And she sat there. Sat there, sat there, sat there.

She wasn't even drunk and still she was already feeling so sorry for herself.

Normally, she wouldn't allow this behavior to overtake her. She wanted to always be the strong woman, the get up and go get 'em type of person. But, not tonight.

Tonight, she would mope and she would feel sorry for herself. She would feel sad over her and Sai's ended relationship, and she would feel sad for where she felt her life was at compared to her peers.

Why were so many people getting married? Buying houses? Having babies?

She was 25 years old. Her friends on _FindFriends_ were always posting about how wonderful their lives were. Where was her amazing boyfriend? Why wasn't she married like them? How come she wasn't off and starting a young family yet? Everyone else seemed to be. And they were 25. Years. Old.

Every so often, Sakura caught herself thinking these thoughts in passing. But this time, this time she delved into them, allowing them to sink their unforgiving claws into her brain, tugging her this way and that way before her head felt like it would explode.

She finished the bottle of wine, rolling it between her hands then. The motion slowly ebbing away her thoughts, smoothing them over to match the texture of the clear glass.

A knock at her door sounded, but she wasn't going to get up to see who it was. She wasn't in the mood to deal with people. And if it was Hinata then the shy girl would announce herself.

Another knock. Sakura could make out the sound of knuckles against the wood, and then sliding down a few inches to wait for her to answer.

Nope, no way. If Sasuke wanted to apologize then he would have to grovel through the goddamn door.

The sound of something sliding under her door peaked her interest, but she didn't dare make a sound. She didn't want Sasuke to know she was home. Let him believe she was off living some exciting, daring life.

She waiting so long without moving that eventually she actually fell asleep. It wasn't until the sun filtered through her window the next morning that her eyes opened. She yawned and picked her head off the arm of the couch to look at the clock nestled above her TV.

11:03 a.m.

Sakura groaned, pushing the heal of her hand against her forehead, which was playing host to a nauseating headache. "That's what I get for drinking a whole bottle."

She shoved the blanket off of her and slowly stood up, afraid of aggravating her headache further.

Dragging her feet, she made her way to her kitchen, but then notice a piece of paper near her doorway.

Achingly, her body allowed her to bend over in order to retrieve it.

The page had a strong crease, but the paper itself was crinkled as if someone had fumbled around with it dozens of times.

 _Meet me at Slow Fire, 9 p.m. on Saturday night._

The mention of a bar made Sakura's headache instantly worsen. But, what was most definitely worse, was the familiar handwriting.

Sai.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Looking up at the blindingly flashing sign made her think twice about what she was about to do. Slow Fire was the place where they went, it was their spot. The spot couple have that they hold precious to them. The spot where when they step through the doors it feels like their home away from home.

Sakura was getting those vibes still, even after the breakup. Though now they were dipped in bitterness, the dark taste rolling off her tongue and she blew out a puff of air, her breath visible due to the chilled night.

She walked away.

She turned around.

Her fists were balled in frustration, fingernails digging half moons into her palms.

Why did Sai have so much power over her? She shouldn't let him get under her skin this way.

Her mind set, and before she had another thought of turning back, her feet carried her through the door.

Sai was easy to spot, after all he was sitting in their booth. Of course he would be.

Sakura only wavered on more time before she made her way over to him. When she was a few feet from the booth, Sai looked up at her.

He wore a smile, but Sakura could tell that it wasn't genuine.

"What can I do to get you to leave me alone?" Sakura asked, not taking a seat, but instead choosing to remain looming over him.

"It's so nice to see you, Sakura. I've missed you."

Sakura became hot with fury. "Tell me how to get you out of my life. I don't even know why I bothered to come here tonight."

"If you could please sit, I can explain everything."

Sakura just crossed her arms, refusing to sit.

He sighed, casting a downward look to the table's surface, drumming his fingers against the shiny finish. "I wanted to apologize for how I treated you. I have since realized how wrong I was in my behavior towards you."

Sakura didn't believe a word coming out of his mouth. He just kept moving his mouth, Sakura could care less about his stupid epiphany. Something else was definitely driving this meeting.

"Sakura," he exhaled. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry, Sai?" Sakura snapped. "Are you sorry that you didn't care about me at all? For stringing me along like I was your plaything?"

At least he had the decency to have a bit of remorse flash across his features as she spoke the words aloud. He made her feel unwanted, unlovable even. It was his turn to get knocked down a peg.

He took in a breath to steady himself. "How I handled our relationship was wrong, and I know that now. I wish that we hadn't slept together the last time on New Year's Eve, it wasn't right. We weren't good then, and things just should have ended."

Wait a minute. Back up.

"The last time we slept together was not New Year's Eve, it was definitely my birthday."

He looked shocked, actually shocked by this news. "No, it was definitely back in January."

Sakura was unable to comprehend what exactly was going on. "What are you talking about?"

He tilted his head as if she were dumb, having some kind of forgetful episode. "The last time we slept together was back in January."

Just then a motion to her left caught her eye. A girl in her early twenties had her eyes on Sakura, seemed to be hanging on every word to this conversation. The moment Sakura's gaze met the girl's, she gave a worried expression to Sai.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Sakura whispered, still staring at the girl. She then turned back to Sai. "Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

Sakura found herself wishing she had a drink in her hand so she could throw it in Sai's face.

"You brought me out here to prove something to her, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said cooly.

Sakura slammed her hands on the booth table, causing it to rattle throughout the bar. It got quiet, no doubt everyone was paying them close attention now. But, Sakura couldn't care less about what they all thought.

"What kind of sick game are you playing?" she shouted, fingers splayed over the hard surface. "The last time we had SEX, Sai, was my FUCKING BIRTHDAY! March 28, you know, the day when you ripped all my clothes off and-"

A pair of hands wrapped around her upper arms and began pulling her away from the table, from Sai.

"Enough."

Sakura knew that voice. Somehow Sasuke was dragging her out of the bar, stopping her tirade with one word.

She stumbled backwards as Sasuke started turning her around so she was facing the exit. Before he did so, she got out a "Fuck you!" before Sai completely disappeared from her line of sight.

Sasuke pushed her out of the bar and let go of her, only to grab hold of her forearm, dragging her down the street.

"Let go of me!" She squirmed and twisted her arm until Sasuke finally gave up. "Why did you pull me away?" she demanded.

Sasuke shoved his hands deep into his coat pockets. "What was that all about?"

"Don't answer my question with another question."

He looked at her carefully, clearly assessing her level of anger by the look on his face. "Are you okay?"

He was worried about her?

She flexed her fingers as she took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and asked again, "Why did you pull me away, Sasuke?"

She didn't dare open her eyes. She wanted to solely focus on his voice, the way that it would reverberate through her with his answer.

"I didn't like seeing you like that. That upset."

She felt it in his words, his sincerity. And that was all she ever wanted from Sai, some kind of sincere emotion.

"Come with me," he said.

Sakura opened her eyes to see him walk away in the opposite direction of the bar. She followed him wordlessly.

He directed her a few blocks down and then turned left. The area was familiar to Sakura, but she couldn't think of anywhere in particular that Sasuke would want to bring her.

After another five minutes of walking, she was about to ask him about their destination when he came to a stop in front of a building. The outside wasn't anything special. In fact, it was a bit run down and not a place where she could imagine Sasuke ever stepping foot in.

He opened the door like he'd done so a thousand times before. He held it open for her, and she slowly made her way in. It was dark inside, but the light from the streetlamps shone through the windows, cutting across metal stairways and a big open space within.

"Where…?" Sakura let the word trail off as she looked around her. Sasuke still remained silent, walking passed her to walk up one of the winding staircases. The sound of his footsteps on the structure rang throughout the space, reverberating in Sakura's ears.

She glided her hand across the worn railing, the metal cool to the touch. Her head tilted up as she followed Sasuke's movements. He had reached the top and opened a latch door, flooding the area around her with the light of a cool night, the moon visible directly above.

When she made it to the top, she poked her head up and looked around. Sasuke stood above her, extending his hand to help her up. She took it.

"I come here to get away from everything," he explained.

The sounds of the city around them were constant. But, it wasn't chaotic in this setting. It muffled her mind, grounding her in the moment rather than having her mind off and in a million different directions like it normally is.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Sakura confessed suddenly, the words spilling from her subconscious through her mouth. "I'm all over the place. I thought by now I'd have everything figured out."

Sasuke looked to the left, across the expanse of the rooftop, which was empty save for a tipped over table and a few empty beer bottles littered around it.

He scoffed. _Scoffed_.

"Why waste time on something stupid like that?"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "It's not stupid to me."

"You do realize that most people don't have life figured out yet. And why worry about it now, there will be time in the future for that. Live for now, not for later."

The way he said it made Sakura want to know why he spoke so confidently, to know for certain that there was no point in dwelling on feeling stuck in her life.

"Everyone on _FindFriends-_ "

" _FindFriends_ isn't the best thing to measure your life against," he cut her off. "It's only ever the same three people posting nonstop about their dumb lives."

Sakura became angry. "Why are you saying these things?"

He finally looked at her then. His gaze pierced her, making her breath halt, not daring to pass her lips in the slightest.

"This is the right thing to do," he simply stated. His mouth set into a finite line, leaving no room for disagreement.

"Why?" Sakura asked. "I'm not your charity case." She didn't need pity, to be looked down on.

He rolled his eyes. "I used to be just like you. I know what it's like to doubt yourself. To feel lost."

She couldn't help it, she laughed. A slow, rolling giggle that bubbled up from her stomach. "You? Mr. CEO's son?"

"To always live in the shadow of my brother has not been an easy path," he conceded, turning away from her to walk to the edge of the building.

He looked down over the side and then his head tilted up to follow the line of the closest skyscraper, it's various windows lit in a random pattern that seemed to frame his body.

Sakura joined him near the edge, waiting patiently for him to elaborate.

When he didn't, Sakura needed to fill the silence, it was unbearable to sit in that silence. "You said you used to be like me. What did you do to change your perspective?"

"I finally understood my purpose." He ran a hand through his hair, and then keeping it there at his neck. "I would get what I deserved. I would overcome my brother and establish my own path, cast my own shadow incomparable to anyone's." He stared at her, his gaze utterly captivating her. "That is what's most important to me, and I haven't lost sight of that since I figured that out many years ago."

It was intimidating to hear Sasuke speak with such conviction. He knew what he wanted and she did not. When was she going to figure out her purpose?

"The point is," Sasuke interrupted her thoughts, "you can't force your life to happen. It'll happen whether you worry about it or not. So don't."

She couldn't look at him, so she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at her shoes, leaning forward a bit while putting her wait all on her heels.

"You know…" she began slowly, paying close attention to her words, wanting to get them out the right way. "I thought that my life became hectic after Sai and I broke up, but really it was when I met you."

"Hn." His mumble sounded like some sort of admission, like anyone could see that this was true.

"You've made me crazy, act like a completely, irrationally insane person." She looked at him from under her eyelashes. "But, maybe that's a good thing?"

He looked at her like she was as crazy as she thought she was.

"What I'm saying is...all the times I'm with you, you make me forget to plan things out. I have to always roll with the punches. And I guess, that's what I need right now." She couldn't help but smile. "I think I need life to happen to me now, instead of forcing it to form shape around me."

He nodded, he actually nodded, agreeing with something she said.

"But don't expect me to suddenly be all calm and zen," she admitted. "It's going to take some time, it's not what I'm used to."

He smirked. "I don't think your crazy will ever go away."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hey all. So, I'm not having a good time lately. Someone stole my debit card info and stole over a thousand dollars from my account. I can't believe it happened to me. So, just make sure that you're checking your bank account regularly! I check mine every couple days and I can only imagine how much worse it could've been. Ughhhhhhhhh why are people so mean?

Chapter Nine

Sakura smiled at the woman approaching her desk. She wore a burgundy jacket that went to her knees, and her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Her face was warm, and there was no way Sakura could not smile at her. But there was something that Sakura couldn't quite place about her, it was like she'd met her before, somehow seen her before.

"Hi," Sakura greeted. "How can I help you?"

The woman smiled back at her, eyes crinkling around the edges. "I'm just waiting for my husband."

Sakura nodded and gestured to the nearby couches. "Feel free to sit while you wait if you'd like."

"Thank you," the woman said, bowing her head slightly, but she remained standing.

Moments passed and then the elevator door dinged open. Sakura pretended to remain occupied, but anxiously waited to learn the identity of this regal woman's husband.

Honestly she shouldn't have been surprised when the CEO came walking through the lobby to meet the woman. He offered her his arm and she gracefully took it before they both left the building.

Of course the woman had seemed so familiar. She looked so much like Sasuke...Or rather, Sasuke looked a lot like her.

"The famous Mikoto Uchiha makes an appearance," Ino's voice piped up behind Sakura's right shoulder.

She tensense and wheeled her chair away from the blonde, not trusting her one bit.

"MIkoto?" Sakura didn't want to talk with Ino, but she couldn't help her curiosity. "That's her name?"

Ino walked around to the front of Sakura's desk, leaning over its surface while she looked down at Sakura condescendingly.

"She absolutely loves me," she bragged.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask about that, dummy."

Ino waved her dismissal. Sakura really wondered as to what Ino did in her free time. Did she go home and practice her bitchiness in front of the mirror or something?

"The Uchiha's are hosting a get-together at their lake estate this weekend, and guess who's invited?" she teased, and then pointed to herself. Then she turned that finger over to point at Sakura. "And guess who's not?"

Sakura sneered at her. "Don't you have someone else you need to torture?"

Ino was obviously delighted that she was going to the Uchiha's party and that Sakura wasn't, she didn't even make a snappy comeback. Instead, she just walked away with a satisfied smirk on her face, her long ponytail sashaying back and forth in that annoying way that it always did.

When she was alone in the lobby, Sakura took out her purse and fished around for her keys. She found them, and plugged in the flashdrive to the computer.

Her phone vibrated just as she was putting it back in the cabinet, so she took it out to sneak a peek.

'What are you doing this weekend?'

Sakura stared at the screen completely confused, baffled, perplexed.

'Who is this?' she texted.

She put her purse away, but kept her phone out, hiding it in the space between the wall and her computer screen. Waiting for it to buzz again so she could find out who it was, she put her attention towards her flashdrive files.

She bobbed her head back and forth in happiness as she clicked on the file called "Bottling the Moon." She had been scared to death when Sasuke almost opened it back at his apartment. Never in her life had she allowed someone to read her writing, and she had been writing for such a long time. There was always that voice in the back of her mind that said she was an absolute crap writer, no one would want to read her stuff anyway. So, she kept it to herself.

It was her own thing, something that she was able to enjoy just for the sake of enjoying it. So, she didn't want to hear anyone's negative feedback when she wrote for the pure enjoyment of it. Somehow, she figured that it would dampen her experience, that actually hearing her fears out loud would make it all end. This bubble of happiness would pop at someone's harsh words.

No thanks, she was perfectly fine with keeping her little made up stories all to herself.

She was typing, typing, typing away when her phone finally buzzed. She finished the sentence she was in the middle of and slid her phone out from its hiding spot.

'A jerk' was all it said.

And she laughed, resting her forehead against her fisted hand as she stared down at the phone in amusement.

'I'm sorry, but I just don't talk to jerks. My parents raised me better than that.' She couldn't help but to feel proud of her response, and she was excited to read Sasuke's. A sort of giddiness came over her as she waited to hear that buzz again.

'I'm sure they'd reconsider. Everyone likes me.'

Sakura huffed and shook her head. Cocky bastard.

'Could've fooled me,' she responded.

A few moments went by without a response from him. She impatiently tapped her fingers on the desk, eyes focused on her phone screen. She understood how completely stupid she was being, but she couldn't help it. If this bit of interaction was something that made her happy, then who was she to question it?

If she was supposed to live her life, then she would do just that. Take it day by day, text by text.

"You never answered my question," Sasuke's voice came out of nowhere.

Sakura jumped in her chair, and she smacked her phone to the floor on accident. Her hand flew to her throat in her shock and she turned wide eyes onto a very amused looking Sasuke.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she ordered, leaning over to pick up her phone. She checked it for cracks or any other signs of damage before turning her attention back to him. "When did you even get here? I didn't see you come in and I've been sitting here without leaving all morning."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Around 7."

Sakura reflexively shrunk back. "Ohhhh, that's too early. No thank you."

"What are you doing this weekend?"

His persistence was intriguing. So, with a raised eyebrow, she asked, "Does this have anything to do with your family party at your lake estate?"

He looked away, as if annoyed by the whole thing. "Naruto is coming with, my mother has a soft spot for the idiot. Which is why she is also allowing him to ask HInata to come along. Would you like to go?"

Sakura was trying way too hard to see through this, to read beneath the lines and get to the real reason for him asking for her to come along. Was he doing it out of pity? Sakura didn't think Sasuke pitied her exactly, more like he was trying to take her under his wing. But was he asking her because he genuinely wanted her to go, or because he didn't want to be an awkward third wheel?

Though all thoughts went away when she thought about how aggravated Ino was going to be by her presence.

"Yes, I'd love to go." She smiled up at him. "Is it going to be super fancy? I can't really picture you and the rest of your family sitting around grilling up some fantastic barbeque."

"We have private chefs cook the meals. Semi-formal." He turned then and went back into the building.

Sakura had no idea where he was working out of. As far as she knew, there hasn't been a permanent office assigned to neither him nor Itachi.

But she found herself wanting to walk around trying to find it, where Sasuke would work on whatever projects that he had. She wondered when his presentation was with Konoha-Toon, and if the information she found for him would really be helpful.

She stopped her train of thought. What was she doing? Just a couple of nice interactions with Sasuke had her getting all gaga?

This wasn't good.

Or was it?

Maybe this is what living life in the moment was like. No expectations, just...having fun.

She should stop worrying about what things meant.

Now, right now, Sakura was making a pact with herself. Over the next few months, she was going to just let her life be. She wouldn't question anything, she wouldn't overthink things, and she wouldn't worry about the future. It was time for her to have some fun.

Her relationship with Sai really took a lot out of her. It was time to get herself back on track.

With that in mind, she turned back to her novel, utterly happy to throw herself into the work.

XXX

"What are you bringing?" Sakura asked Hinata, who was setting her purse down beside Sakura's couch, just settling in from her arrival.

Hinata blushed, looking down at her shoes while pushing her hair back behind her ear. "A few dresses and...a swimsuit."

Sakura perked up at that. "A swimsuit? Isn't it going to be too cold to swim in the lake?"

Hinata gave a quiet laugh. "Naruto said there was an indoor pool, and that it was required of me to go swimming in it."

Sakura gave Hinata the look. "Oooooh, Naruto wants to make sure you bring a swimsuit, huh?"

Hinata's blush deepened at Sakura's tone.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop my teasing," Sakura admitted, turning around and walking to her room. "That's exciting about an indoor pool! I haven't been swimming in so long."

She opened her dresser drawer, rifling around until she pulled out her bikini top. It was sea green with ruffles, and she absolutely loved it. It didn't take long to find the matching bottoms, and she packed it first.

"How are things going with Naruto? I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

"Things are...they're wonderful actually," Hinata said.

"What have you guys been up to?" Sakura continued to pack her bag with pajamas, socks, panties. The hardest was picking out her actual clothes. She tried to find something casual enough that it could be passed off as a regular day, but dressy enough to be considered knock-em-dead. It was a hard line to distinguish, but somehow she would do it.

"Well, he likes to take me to this ramen shop. We've actually been to it many times." She gave a little secret smile. "But, I don't mind. It doesn't matter where we are, just that we get to know each other more."

Sakura couldn't help but to smile. "That's great, Hinata. I'm so happy that it's working out for you!"

And she was really looking forward to seeing their relationship. She has yet to see the two of them together aside from that night when Naruto filmed her drunken self.

The overwhelming need to get back at Naruto suddenly filled Sakura. This weekend wasn't going to just be filled with fun nights, swimming and fancy food. It was also going to be filled with the sweet taste of revenge.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The week passed by slowly, and when Friday finally came, Sakura's eyes were glued to the clock. The minutes ticked by, but never fast enough for the anxious pinkette.

The plan was set. Hinata would be over to pick her up after Sakura got off from work. She'd run up, grab her suitcase and she and Hinata would drive to the lake house.

Five minutes to five, Ino made her way passed Sakura's desk. She waved at Sakura and then blew her a kiss.

Sakura lifted her hand in reply. "Have fun this weekend, Ino!" she called out to her as the blonde left the building without looking back.

She couldn't help but to snicker to herself. Oh how she was going to ruin Ino's mood.

The time finally came when Sakura could leave, so she left in hurry, power walking all the way to her apartment building. She needed to pack a few more things, and by the time she was finished, Hinata called her.

Sakura accepted the call. "Hey, Hinata, I'm all set. You outside?"

"Yes, I'm here-"

"Great, I'm on my way down!" Sakura interjected excitedly, ending the call before any more words could be tossed around.

But when she got down to the street, Hinata's car was nowhere in sight. She looked around, expecting her to be driving up the road, but nothing. Sakura couldn't see her white Civic anywhere. Just a big, black SUV.

She took out her phone, about to call Hinata, but then the SUV beeped.

It started her so much, she jumped and put her arm up reflexively. The car gave a quick beep again.

She crept towards it, keeping her guard up. The passenger side window rolled down, and there was Sasuke in the driver's seat smirking at her.

Sakura made a beeline for the car.

"Sasuke, you jerk! Gave me a heart attack!"

When she got to the car, she could see Hinata and Naruto in the back seats. Naruto was laughing his head off.

"Think that was funny, huh?" Sakura started her threat. "You won't be laughing by the time this trip is over."

He shut up almost instantly, looking to Hinata for some sort of safety raft. She gave him a smile and Pat his hand.

Sasuke finally spoke up. "Get in, we've got a long drive."

She held up her bag, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He got out of the car and put her suitcase in the back. She jumped into the passenger seat and buckled in.

"So, what's with the change in drivers...and vehicles?" Sakura asked, turning around in her seat to look at Hinata, curious as to when this decision had been made without her knowledge.

To her credit, Hinata looked almost just as confused.

Then, Naruto butt in. "I didn't want Hinata to drive somewhere she had never been to alone, so I offered to drive with her."

Sasuke scoffed.

"Fine," Naruto said. "I said that Sasuke could drive her. And Hinata said that she was going to drive you, so I just told Sasuke 'the more the merrier'!"

Sasuke started up the engine and pulled away from the curb. He didn't have his phone out for navigation, as Sakura assumed that he'd made the drive his whole life. She was honestly grateful to not have to worry about which exit they'd need to take or getting lost or finding a safe place to get gas.

Feeling relieved, she settled into her seat.

For a whole thirty seconds before she tapped her fingers against her thigh.

"Can we turn on the radio?" she asked.

Sasuke gave her a sideways look, but said nothing. She took that as a yes, and so she reached over to the dials to turn it on.

Sasuke's hand covered the radio before she could lay one finger on it.

"There are rules," he insisted.

Sakura sighed. "What are they, oh great radio keeper?"

He went on as if she hadn't insulted him. "First, no country."

"But-"

"Second," he continued. "No switching stations in the middle of a song. I can overrule your song choice though if I deem it unlistenable."

"This is silly-"

"Third." His third finger went up, he held them up between them. "No singing along."

Oh hell no.

"Sasuke, stop being ridiculous," she huffed.

He put his hand back on the wheel. "My car, my rules." He said it so unapologetically that Sakura could feel the brick wall he'd built to block her oppositions out.

Most of the fun of a road trip was being able to sing along to all the songs she knew. If it would have just been she and Hinata driving, then Sakura would have belted out the notes like her life depended on it. With others in the car though, she would have sang along at a respectful volume. But, for Sasuke to ban her singing completely was something she couldn't tolerate.

"Fine," she gritted out, having absolutely no intention of keeping that agreement whatsoever.

He conceded, giving her a quick nod of his head.

She wasted no more time in turning the radio on, flipping through the channels until she found one playing a song she knew.

She sat back happily, bobbing her head along to the beat, and she couldn't be more excited for when the singer came on. The lyrics flowed from her mouth so effortlessly, keeping perfect time with the singer.

Sasuke turned the song off. "I didn't think you could sing that bad," he incredulously admitted. "Where did that come from?"

Sakura grimaced and bounced her feet a couple times. "I'm a good singer."

He laughed. It wasn't that unadulterated, no holds barred kind of laugh, but it was still the kind of laugh that made Sakura curl her toes when she heard it. The low rumble rolled over her, making her hungry for more.

So she kept singing even without the music. Bobbing her head like she was still dancing around to the beat.

Sasuke gave another low chuckle, and then he turned the volume back up. "I'm not about to subject myself to just hearing that for the next hour."

Sakura was happy to get her way, but she was more pleased with herself for getting Sasuke to laugh. She had the feeling that it wasn't an easy feat.

So for the ride,she sang along to most of the songs while plotting out what she was going to do to Naruto. She was a content little passenger.

XXX

The lake house was absolutely stunning. It was a large, no, gigantic log cabin. Sakura marveled at the authenticity of it. For some reason she was expecting a mansion with columns and impressive landscaping. This was a big house, but it somehow maintained a semblance of coziness to her amazement.

When Sasuke pulled the car up to park beside two others, Sakura took longer to get out over everyone else. She couldn't help but stare at the serene water, the surface so smooth it looked like she'd be able to walk across it no problem.

She was still staring when Sasuke popped open the door, giving her a knowing look.

"Never seen water before?"

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "Everything's so beautiful."

He paused, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite get the words to roll of his tongue.

They stayed like that for a few more seconds, neither of them making a move to look away, to speak about anything further.

Naruto had other plans though. He jumped in, putting his arm around Sasuke's shoulder and smiling. "Let's get this three day weekend started!"

That broke Sakura out of her daze. "Did you say...three day weekend?"

Sasuke picked up on her confusion right away. "You forgot that we don't have work on Monday?"

"Crap!" she cursed under her breath. She completely forgot that the CEO shut down the office on Monday. He did that one weekend every quarter, and this weekend was that time.

Sasuke's eyebrow rose. "Do you have something against having time off?"

"I just…"

 _Wasn't mentally prepared to spend that many days with you._

She pushed out of the car, shoving Naruto and Sasuke aside as she passed them. She found Hinata only a few steps away and looped an arm through hers.

"Time to go get settled!" Sakura declared. "And then go to the water."

She and Hinata walked to the back of Sasuke's SUV to pick up their bags. They followed Sasuke and Naruto up the front steps and into the grand house.

The inside was just as cozy and magnificent as the outside. There were flannel throw blankets tossed over the couches and nature paintings having along the walls. The room structure was interesting with stairs rounding up to a second and third floors, with separate landings in between.

It was all so...perfect. Sakura had always dreamed about living in a place just like this for her whole life. Something so upscale, and yet down to earth at the same time.

"Who designed-?" Sakura began but was cut off by the elegant woman she had seen previously at work.

She carried herself with that same sort of confidence that she exuded back at the publishing house. However, this time she was dressed much more casually. Her silky, dark hair was down, and she wore a pair of beige pants with a loose white shirt tucked into the hem at her waist. Her sleeves we're rolled up to her elbows, and she wore a simple, thin bracelet on her right wrist.

"Welcome," the woman said. "Thank you all for accompanying Sasuke for this long weekend ahead of us."

"Hey, Mrs. Uchiha!" Naruto beamed, going in for a hug.

The woman was happy to hug Naruto, looking every bit the motherly figure welcoming one of her own children home.

"Naruto, it's really been too long." The hug ended,and the woman looked to Hinata. "This must be Hinata, the one you've been talking to me about.

Hinata instantly blushed at the insinuation that Naruto talked about her without her knowledge to people she had never even met before. Sakura couldn't have been happier for her friend, Naruto was really a nice guy.

"Y-yes, I'm Hinata," she slowly got out while extending her hand. "And if it wouldn't be too rude, may I ask your name?"

"It's Mikoto," she said while accepting Hinata's handshake.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mikoto."

Mikoto smiled and turned to Sakura then. A look of realization struck her as they locked eyes. "Well, hello again. I didn't know that we would be meeting again like this."

Sakura smiled at her. "It's great to see you again. Thank you for allowing us to stay."

Mikoto waved her off. "Any friends of Sasuke's are always welcome."

Sasuke walked up to his mom then, kissing her on the cheek while hugging her. The notion felt sweet to Sakura. She was getting this small glimpse at Sasuke that he most likely didn't really show anyone else.

"Sasuke, show your guests to their rooms. Dinner will be ready in about an hour." Mikoto gave them all one more smile before returning from the room she came in from.

Sasuke wasted no time in walking away from them and up one of the winding staircases. Sakura and the others quickly followed suit, trailing behind a stoic Sasuke.

He took them down a hall lined with elegant doors, most of them were shut. But, he stopped at one of them and opened it up. Hecocked his head in it's direction and looked at Sakura. "You can stay here."

Sakura bounced into the room, taking it all in. The room was enormous, twice the size of hers back home. It was decorated with throw pillows and a fluffy comforter that looked so cozy that Sakura knew she'd have no problems getting to sleep at night.

"Naruto, show Hinata around," Sasuke ordered.

Naruto took Hinata by the hand and ran down the hall, excited for her to see the masterpiece of a room waiting for her.

Sakura went to the window and pulled the wispy curtain aside, unveiling a surreal view of the lake. "This is a beautiful home. I would love to have a home like this." She turned to look at him then. "And this is your lake house. I can't even imagine what your real house looks like."

Sasuke looked at her bemused. "I live with Naruto, you know. It's not fancy at all."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, then I mean your parent's home."

He walked over to join her by the window. He stared at the water, and she stared at him through the window's reflection.

He was pensive as he said, "Having fancy or expensive things isn't always better."

"I've never really had anything that was fancy," Sakura admitted. "So I guess I'm just on the other side of the glass looking in when you're looking out."

"What an eloquent way of phrasing that ideology," a dark, unfamiliar voice snaked its way to them from the room's entrance.

Sakura turned to see Itachi studying the two of them, his gave steady. She had never before had an interaction with him; she'd only ever seen him from a distance.

Sasuke stepped just a bit in front of her as he addressed his brother. "Itachi."

Something in the way Sasuke spoke jogged Sakura's memory. This man was the reason why Sakura had to get information from the CEO's computer. Sasuke was competing with him for the chance that his father would overlook his first born son so that his younger child would inherit the business.

She also was reminded of the fact that she had no siblings. When she was younger, she would often fantasize what it would be like to have a sister to share secrets with, to do each other's hair, to be each other's champion.

So she couldn't help but wonder what happened between these two men for them to look at each other as if they were thinking of a million ways to cut the other down.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Itachi walked into the room, his presence every bit as intimidating as his piercing gaze.

Sakura couldn't seem to look away.

"We have not officially met," he segued. "I am Itachi Uchiha."

He held his hand out, waiting for her to make a move and accept it.

She had to move around Around Sasuke to get to him. Sasuke didn't move out of her way in the slightest, if anything he still tried to remain near her as she shook Itachi's hand.

"Sakura," she said, unsure of what to say to this man. Part of her was even afraid of blabbing away Sasuke's secret mission out of her shere uncomfortableness.

Itachi gave her a slow smile and let her hand go, as if the simple brush of their fingers was all he needed to read her every thought.

"I'm off then," he said while looking at her, though she somehow knew that he was actually talking to Sasuke.

As he exited the room, Sakura could see a visible difference in the way Sasuke held himself. He was more relaxed in his stance, not so straight up and down, at full attention. His shoulder eased down a bit, and his eyes had lost their razor like edge.

"What the hell was that about?" She whispered, afraid her voice would carry out the door and down the hall if it were any louder.

Sasuke shook his head. "Itachi," he ground out.

Okayyyyyy.

"What's up with you two?" She asked. "I've seen sibling rivalry, but that was like...some kind of bizarre extreme."

Rather than answering her question, he changed the topic. "You wanted to go down to the water?"

She perked up and sped to the door, turning around as she got there. "Lead the way."

No way was Sakura letting him off so easily, but she wanted to get him out of the house. Maybe being away from Itachi would get him to open up a bit.

Sasuke remained pensive, but still led her through the house and out the back door. The lawn was expansive, a few hills breaking up the landscaping as it shepherded them down to the water's edge naturally.

The water rippled gently, tugging this way and that with the breeze. Sakura smiled down at her reflection and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh air.

"It's nice to get out of the city. I haven't gone anywhere in a long time," she admitted, silently leading the way out onto the dock.

The wooden path was steady below their feet, not even a tiny Creek was heard as they walked onto it. Sakura held out her hand to hover over the railing, every so often she would dip her hand and tap the surface happily.

Sasuke stayed silent, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets. Sakura couldn't help but wonder at how he got through things. Did he have any way of coping with his feelings?

"You know," she began. "It's a little hypocritical of you to tell me how to live my life with no worrying, when you're worrying right now."

"I never said not to worry," he pointed out. "I told you not to worry about figuring your life out right now."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you also said that you stopped worrying because you're so confident in the fact that you will overcome your brother, step out from behind his shadow." She tucked her hair behind her ear after a gust of wind blew it in front of her face. "Didn't exactly look like you're over that shadow yourself."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't speak about things as if you understand."

"As if I…?" Sakura bristled at both his tone and his words. "What makes you think I don't understand?"

He looked her up and down, and then settled on her face. He gave her a look that said she was crazy for not understanding his train of thought.

She didn't understand what was happening. She thought they were on some sort of level leading to friendship, that he would be a good support for her, but maybe she was wrong. So completely wrong.

"Say it, Sasuke."

He looked annoyed that he had to explain himself aloud. "You don't know what it's like to have to compete all the time."

Sakura's ears burned in her rage. "You're the one who doesn't understand!" She found her arm out back to the gorgeous lake house. "You grew up with everything, and I grew up with nothing. Everything I have, I've had to earn it. I grew up in a box, Sasuke, in a box!"

He looked absolutely confused.

"So you're right, I don't understand what it's like to have to compete with an older sibling. I just had to learn how to compete with everyone else," she shouted.

She didn't wait for his reply,but rather she wrapped her jacket around her tighter, holding her elbows in her hands as she stormed off the dock. She held it together until she got to a big Willow tree on the outskirts of the property. She got to the opposite side of the trunk before she said to the ground and cried. She pulled her knees close to her chest as she set her eyes down on her jeans.

It wasn't a hard cry, but a silent one. Tears slid down her face as she sat there quietly thinking about her outburst.

It felt like a decent amount of time had passed before she lifted her head. It was getting dark out, the sun dipping lower and lower behind the treeline. The last flickers of light danced across the water, making it glimmer off it's surface.

She took a last swipe of her eyes on her sleeve before sniffling. Okay, one more swipe with the other sleeve just to be safe she was done crying.

Putting her hand to the tree's bark, she walked around it, ready to go back.

But she came up short, surprised to find Sasuke sitting on the ground and leaning his back against the tree, opposite from where she'd been huddled.

His eyes were closed, his head tilted back. It almost was as if he was asleep, but then his eyes slowly blinked open.

They were low at first, but then he saw her standing beside him and he looked at her with a wide and worried expression.

"Sakura," he broke the silence, but then didn't know what else to say apparently.

She stood there looking down at him. Even though she had just done this very same thing just a little while ago, she told him, "We shouldn't be comparing our hardships."

And Sakura knew then what she should've known all along. Comparing herself to others didn't do any good, most certainly not for her. She couldn't fix her past, couldn't change what she had gone through. She just needed to focus on the now, be present in the everyday life she had carved out for herself.

He remained sitting on the ground, leaning against the tree, his head angled up to look at her.

She could tell by his expression that he was searching for the right thing to say, or maybe for anything to say at all. And she couldn't help herself, but she had to speak before he did.

"Come on, let's go inside. Dinners probably ready by now." She held out her hand for him to take.

He eyed it for a second before slowly connecting his palm to hers. The feeling of his strong, warm hand holding hers was enrapturing. The feeling seemed to run through her the longer he held on, and it even lingered after he let go.

Walking back to the house was quiet. Rather than feeling awkward in the silence, Sakura's mind was a complete hush. It was strange for her to feel filled to the brim with such turmoil, and now feel relaxed.

Sasuke brought out the crazy in her, but he also called the storms. Never before had she found someone who was capable of making her feel this way.

They just made it to the door when Sasuke tugged on her jacket sleeve. The action surprised her, stopping her foot before her toes hit the ground.

He looked unsure of himself still, but then he set his jaw, angling his shoulders confidently towards her.

"You should be able to talk about anything with me." He took his hand back and put it in his pocket, his trademark look that Sakura came to expect from him. "I'll listen."

Sakura slowly nodded. She didn't know when she'd be able to talk with Sasuke about her past, but she knew that it would happen. It was just a feeling she had, something in those eyes of his always pulled her in, making her feel safe, secure.

But she's felt this way before, with Sai. Just for a little bit in the beginning of their relationship, and look where that got her.

Sasuke pushed the glass door open and waited for her to walk in before he stepped in and shut the door.

Sakura took her boots off and set them against the wall, and as she stood up her nose was overcome with such a delicious aroma.

"What is that?" she said dreamily, sniffing a few more times while she followed the smell into the kitchen.

A couple of chefs were busy setting plates, and Sakura's mouth watered at the sight. The chicken breasts were browned to perfection, mashed potatoes were always a welcome sight, and the steamed vegetables glistened with a hint of butter.

Mikoto walked into the kitchen through the door on the opposite end of the room, which Sakura could see was the dining room, set and ready to go. She saw Sakura hovering.

"Come and sit, dear. DInner's ready." Her warm smile enticed Sakura to walk through the kitchen and meet her.

"It all looks so good, I can't wait," Sakura blurted, her eyes no doubt widening with her excitement at finally getting to eat.

Mikoto stared at her in surprise. Not the kind of surprise like she didn't expect something so nice to come out of Sakura's mouth, but more like she was amused instead. Sakura would take it.

Thankfully Sasuke was close behind her when she made her way to the table. He pulled out a chair for her to take, which she was grateful for as she didn't want to pick out a wrong seat. Heaven forbid that she take the chair that Itachi always sat at. He was scary, and she didn't want to deal with another showdown between the Uchiha brothers.

Naruto came racing in with Hinata not too far behind. He eagerly took up a seat on the other side of Sakura, patting the seat beside him. "Sit by me, Hinata."

She smiled and quietly took her seat, folding her hands in her lap. Sakura leaned across Naruto to whisper, "Isn't this place crazy? I've never seen anything like it!"

Hinata nodded, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. "It's incredible."

From the hallway, Sakura could hear it. Oh boy, could she ever hear it. The sound cascaded against the walls, reverberating enticingly in Sakura's ears. Ino's voice.

This was it. Sakura straightened in her chair, eagerly awaiting the moment when Ino would see her, the moment when she would shriek or pull on her hair in agitation at the sight of Sakura's pink head anywhere near the Uchihas.

Itachi appeared first, followed by Ino. She wore a different look than usual. No longer sporting an irritated expression, nor was there a look in her eyes that always made Sakura shut her mouth, lest another rumor about her be spread around the office.

No, she looked...sweet, bright eyes and happy. Her hair was down, braided over her left shoulder in a loose, casual way. Her smile was uninhibited by the stress she usually carried around with her. She was utterly free, no sign of the Ino that Sakura had grown to despise, to hate even.

It felt like time stood still in that moment, in which Sakura thought for the slightest of seconds that this was a completely different girl.

But then her cerulean blue eyes took in the rest of the room's inhabitants, and when her eyes landed on Sakura, she stopped smiling.

 _There she is!_ Sakura couldn't help but do a victory dance in her head when Ino's face went from totally angelic to demonic in less than a second.

And then in walked the CEO, Fugaku Uchiha. He was smiling a fraction as he took his seat at the head of the table. Mikoto took up the chair opposite him.

Sakura smirked at her rival as she took a seat beside Itachi, and directly across from her, not daring to even utter a single word in front of Fugaku.

"Sakura," Itachi drawled, his dusky voice cutting through the tension in the room. "I'm happy that you'll be staying with us for the weekend."

Ino looked ready to explode. Her face was becoming more red with each passing breath. And Sakura loved every bit of it.

"I am too," she said, not looking away from Ino while she answered Itachi.

But then, Sasuke visibly tensed beside her, and that brought her out of her victorious inner monologue. Itachi's words were odd, now that she was dissecting them. Why would he only point her out while there were six other people in the room.

She glanced sideways at Sasuke and then at Itachi head on. He was looking directly at her, completely unabashed.

Uh oh. Sakura was so excited in her revenge plans against Ino and then Naruto that nothing else had even been on her radar. But now, with Itachi staring at her like that, she couldn't help but wonder what was in store for her during this trip. She had been busy laying out her web, but had she already been caught in another?


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story! Your encouragement keeps me going! :) Hugs and kisses forever, LazyApples~~~~

Chapter Twelve

Dinner was awkward, and Sakura's attention was divided between avoiding Itachi's gaze and making sure that Sasuke wasn't about to leap across the table to throttle his brother.

To be honest, she didn't even enjoy the food because of it. She absentmindedly shoveled it all in her mouth while simultaneously making sure to be ready in case she needed to spring into action.

Fugaku and Mikoto weren't a talkative couple, but thankfully Naruto was there to fill the silence. Sakura couldn't even imagine what it must be like to have the four of the Uchihas sit down to have a family dinner together. Did anyone ever utter a word?

At some point the chefs came back to replace everyone's dinner plates with a small bowl of ice cream, one scoop of vanilla with dash of chocolate syrup on top. She took a break in her worrying to actually taste her ice cream. It was ice cream, there was no way that she would even allow herself to not pay it the attention it deserved. Sasuke and Itachi would be fine until her last marvelous bite...she hoped.

She felt a slight nudge under the table, a shoe coming into contact with her shin. For a horrifying moment she looked at Itachi, afraid that he was trying something with her. But then the foot pulled back and slammed into her shin. Hard.

Sakura jumped, her ice cream spoon still firmly in her mouth while tears appeared at the corners of her eyes reflexively. She drew her legs in close to her chair and glared at Ino, who was innocently dabbing her mouth with a napkin.

 _That bitch!_

Mikoto looked worriedly at Sakura. "Is everything alright, dear?"

Sakura winced from the pain still. "Yes, I'm fine," she waved it all off, not wanting to cause a scene with such a large audience.

Mikoto nodded slowly, still visibly unsure of what was going on with Sakura, but she was polite enough not to keep pressing the matter. "Well then, before everyone scurries off, I would like to once again thank you all for coming. We are happy to have you all, and thankful that Itachi and Sasuke keep such good friends."

Fugaku nodded, closing his eyes. "It pleases me greatly."

Sakura was having a really hard time understanding how this man could be in charge of such a creativity-relying business. Even more so when she thought about all the children books that they published.

Fugaku pushed his chair back, signalling that it was finally okay for everyone to leave the table.

Sakura could not have been happier to get out of that room. No way was she going to let Ino goad her into starting a fight in front of their CEO.

But, Ino apparently wasn't finished with her yet. "Oh, Sakura!" she called out to her, her braid bouncing over her shoulder as she lightly jogged over to her retreating form.

"Yes, Ino?" Sakura bit out, her eyes throwing daggers at the approaching blonde.

"I wanted to see if you would be up for a walk? Just us girls," she asked innocently, though Sakura had no trouble seeing the malice dripping behind each word.

Sasuke came up then. "She has other plans," he said before leading her down the hall, his hand guiding her by the small of her back.

Sakura was still aggravated with Ino, but she couldn't push away the sensation of Sasuke's hand on her, which had wiggled its way to the front of her every thought.

Naruto caught up with them at the end of the hall. "Yeesh, what's up with the two of you?"

Sakura looked back to see Itachi escorting Ino down another hall.

"You mean Miss Priss or Itachi?" she seethed.

"Itachi?" Naruto questioned. "What was wrong with Itachi? I was talking about that girl he was with. I've never seen her before, and the way the two of you were looking at each other was scary."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "We work together and I hate her. She does nothing but spread horrible rumors."

Naruto looked confused. "Then why is Itachi with her?"

Sakura was taken aback. "Maybe because he's terrible, too?"

He blinked, but then Naruto let out an uncomfortable smile. "Sasuke got to you, huh?"

She looked at Sasuke then, but his face was a blank canvas. She couldn't read him in the slightest. "What's he talking about?"

"He's Naruto, he's being an idiot."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto bumped into him with his shoulder and smiled. "Sasuke's afraid that Itachi is going to take you away."

Silence.

"Take me away?" Sakura repeated.

Naruto nodded. "Same thing happened with-"

"Enough," Sasuke interrupted, his face becoming more dangerous by the second.

"What's he talking about, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, even though she could tell this was a horribly precarious conversation.

Hinata piped up then. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here?"

Sakura became aware that they were still in the hall, and their conversation could be heard by the rest of the house's inhabitants rather easily.

"She's right," Sakura said, grabbing Sasuke's wrist and pulling him down the hall, hoping that she would be able to find a path that led outside. There was a fire pit in the backyard that was surrounded by comfy looking chairs. It would be the perfect spot to hunker down for this story she had to hear.

Sasuke pulled his hand from hers and looked torn. Sakura saw that he was fighting the urge to run away, not wanting to delve any further into what Naruto just brought to the table. But then, Sasuke would have to know that would leave just Naruto to tell the tale, which was something that Sasuke probably couldn't stand. He was most likely forcing himself to be there because he couldn't trust Naruto to relay the story properly.

Eventually, Sakura came to a familiar spot in the house and she led everyone outside. They sat around the fire pit, Sakura curling her legs under her as she sat on the plush cushion. The wicker chair creaked with the movement, but then settled once she found a comfortable position.

It wasn't so dark out yet, the cool blue of the night was gently sweeping away the oranges and yellows of the day. The house loomed a safe distance away from the group now.

"Okay, what's going on?" Sakura asked. She was the one caught in the middle of these apparently two warring Uchiha brothers and she deserved to know exactly what she had stumbled into.

Naruto scooched to the edge of the wicker bench he was sharing with Hinata, his hands making motions with his every word. "Back in high school, Sasuke was-"

Sasuke cut him off. "If this story is going to be told, then I'll be the one to do it." He glared at his blonde best friend.

Naruto held up his hands in defeat, settling back in his chair, putting his arm around Hinata so she could snuggle into his side.

Sakura watched Sasuke patiently, to which he looked back at her in defeat. A dignified defeat though because Sasuke clearly couldn't do anything with humility.

"In high school I dated this girl. Things were fine, but then she left me for Itachi."

There was no aggression in his voice, which confused Sakura greatly. Wasn't this action supposed to anger him? It made her angry just hearing it, so why wasn't Sasuke emoting whatsoever.

Sakura waited for the rest of the story, but it never came.

"That's it? That's the end of it?" Sakura asked, confused. The story was unfortunate, terrible, and sad, yes, but she was kind of expecting there to be more to it than that. Some sort of epic story with lots of twists and turns.

Sasuke glared at her. "Do you need something else to cause me pain?"

She threw her hands up and inched back. "No, no, that's not what I meant!" She put her hands over her knees and chose her next words carefully. "The same thing won't happen, Sasuke." Though she slightly felt weird saying that. She and Sasuke were not a couple, so it was odd that this needed to be expressed aloud. Not that she would want to pursue Itachi anyway. For someone to date Ino, he would probably be a very vile person indeed.

But still, should Sakura have said that? Should she have admitted that Sasuke wouldn't have her stolen away from him like it happened last time? She wasn't even his to officially steal away!

Sakura's mind argued back and forth, the same arguments popping up one after the other. She was lost in her own head when Naruto broke the silence.

"Anyway...So that's that." His tone was low, but then it picked up the pace. "Now let's light this sucker up!"

He began pulling wood from a container and stacking it in the fire. While he worked, he chatted with Hinata, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to continue to stew about their brief conversation.

Sasuke leaned over his knees, getting closer to her from his own chair. "Don't think so hard, I can see that brain of yours working overtime."

She couldn't help but laugh. "At least I have a brain," she joked back.

He smirked and she smiled.

Good, Sakura liked this much better than all the heavy stuff. This is where she and Sasuke belonged, this back and forth witty banter of a friendship.

But even she could tell that slowly it was chipping away, starting to be something more. She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't help but pull up her dating experience and compare it to what she and Sasuke had.

Looking at him now, she was overly attracted to him, unreasonably, foolishly, deliriously attracted to him. His very presence intoxicated her, and with every glance he threw her way she could feel herself becoming more and more tipsy, like one more sip could put her over the edge.

But that's how it always starts. The instant chemistry, infatuation, fun. Until that's not how it is anymore.

She wasn't ready to get hurt all over again. She had just put herself back together after her relationship ended with Sai.

But...had she?

She was manic and emotional, sometimes she lost it even after that.

And then Sasuke told her all those things on the roof. He made her see herself for how she was acting. He made her realign her life to how she wanted to live. And yet, she still couldn't let herself give in to this feeling, this unwavering need to allow herself to drown in him.

He leaned in further, poking her in the forehead. "Stop overthinking things. Just let it be."

She blushed as he kept his fingers there, looking at her in amusement. It felt nice to have someone stop her like that. Sai never knew when she would lose herself to her thoughts, and she'd sit and worry and worry for hours at a time.

"Thanks," she whispered past shaky lips and a slow smile.

 _Living in the moment_ , she thought, _isn't so bad._

XXX

The four of them stayed out there for hours, talking about everything. Stupid, funny, sad, happy, crazy things. At one point, Naruto went back into the house and came back with the fixing for smores.

Sakura lost count of how many she ate, and she only stopped when her belly couldn't take a single bite more.

When it finally became completely dark though, Sakura couldn't stop staring up at the sky. Billions of tiny speckles twinkled back at her in the black sheet of the night. There were so many of them, she'd never seen anything quite like it before.

"Is it always so beautiful out here?" she asked, trying to take as many mental pictures as she could.

Hinata parroted her appreciation. "I've been camping as a kid, but it's never been this brilliant."

Sasuke spoke up. "The first night I spent here after my parents bought it, I remember being amazed. And it's still incredible."

Sneaking a look at him from the corner of her eye, Sakura watched him. His head leaning against the back of his chair, eyes skyward, admiring.

She couldn't help but smile and look back at the clusters of stars that were staring back at them. She wondered briefly what the stars would say about looking back at them sitting around the fire.

"You know," Sakura started. "I'm writing a book."

"That's awesome, Sakura!" Naruto complimented. "What's it about?"

Sakura stretched her arms out in front of her, fingers lacing together as she pushed her palms out. "I'm not at liberty to say," she joked, making Hinata giggle.

"You know what it's about, don't you," Naruto accused Hinata, making her giggle even more. He pulled her in for a hug and rocked back and forth in a funny way. "Pleeeeeeease tell me what it's about?" he begged her.

"Sorry, Naruto. It's not mine to talk about," Hinata apologized.

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," Sakura said. "But I can tell you what it's called. I named it _Bottling the Moon_."

Sasuke snapped his head up to look at her, eyes full of understanding. "That's-"

"Yes," Sakura quipped. "That's what you saw when my flashdrive was plugged into your laptop."

Sakura laughed. "Are you two done interrupting me?"

The boys were quiet, no doubt eager to hear more.

"It's called _Bottling the Moon_ ," she continued, "because you can see the moon during the night and also during the day. It's always a steady presence in the world. And that's important to me."

She had never spoken about this outloud before, never before shared the meaning behind her book's title with another person. Hinata didn't even know before tonight. It was something that was wholly Sakura's, but being in this moment, being with her friends and feeling so good for the first time in a long time, she felt like opening up. Letting those around her in, allowing others to get a glimpse of her secret thoughts.

"The moon sees us all the time. Not just in the light, but also not only at our darkest. It gets the whole picture of what kind of people we all are. Everyone around the world, good, bad, young, old. I think the moon connects us, and I've always wanted to be able to be like that. I want to see the good and the bad in people and be able to understand their whole story."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sweeping the rest of her hair over her shoulder. "When we want to keep things, want to keep our feelings safe, we bottle them up inside. I'd like to be able to bottle up what the moon sees in a similar way, to hold close to me the whole picture of people, happy or sad." She let out a sigh. "And it's not easy keeping this in mind when dealing with particular people, but it's how I feel for the most part."

Nobody spoke, they all sat in silence taking in her reasoning.

Sakura had to admit that it was a bit deeper than the conversations they had been having previously, but the moment felt right. It was time to start letting people in, and it was time for her to let others see how she was in happiness and in sadness.

During the day when windows go up and she's a curtain blowing with a warm breeze, or at night when the windows close and there's nothing left but the still whisper of the night, waiting for someone to whisper back.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, Sakura was woken up by the sun's rays peeking through the window curtains. Heavy with sleep, her eyes blinked open lazily, looking around the unfamiliar room slightly dazed. The clock on the nightstand read 8:14 a.m.

It took her a few seconds to remember where she was, and not to panic when she didn't recognize the decor at first.

She forced herself into a sitting position, her shoulders hunched forward as she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. By the time she opened her eyes again, there was a knock at her door. She gave a slight groan before shuffling over to see who was bothering her so early in the morning, and after such a late night as well.

Half expecting Naruto to be on the other side of the door, she snatched the handle, ready to tell him off, but when she threw open the door she was met by the gentleness and warmth that was Mikoto Uchiha.

"Oh, good morning, dear." Mikoto's hand flew to her chest in surprise at the aggression in which Sakura threw open the door. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

Feeling totally underdressed in her flannel pajamas, Sakura blushed. "No, no, don't worry about it, I was already awake." Not a complete lie. "What can I do for you?"

"I didn't know if my son explained where everything was yesterday as far as towels and such. He's not one for the details, that one." Mikoto gave a light laugh, a bell chiming in the wind. "Do you mind?" She angled her body to the nearest door in the hallway, the door ajar but the lights remained off.

Mikoto's smile was infectious as Sakura couldn't help but sport on for herself at the thought of Sasuke carefully explaining where the extra towels were located.

"Thank you," Sakura accepted her offer, and really how could she not?

The two of them made quick work of getting to the room, Mikoto flipping the light switch on, illuminating the features and decor within. Just like the rest of the house, this bathroom was so intricately designed and perfect. Mikoto explained where she could find everything, and really it was everything. From towels to soap, and floss to q-tips, Mikoto showed her everything she may possibly need.

"Nice pjs," Sasuke's low voice came from behind Sakura, surprising her enough to jump and bump into MIkoto.

Sasuke stood there smirking his egotistical head off, while Sakura regained her breathing.

"You shouldn't scare people like that, Sasuke," Mikoto chastised, making sure that Sakura was able to stand upright on her own.

He tilted his head slightly to the side, showing off that wonderful jaw line of his. Sakura tried to ignore it, but to her dismay she was rapidly becoming more and more horrified that he was seeing her then.

Her hair was a mess from sleep, a fact that she had witnessed in the mirror not three feet from her, she had no makeup on, and her pajamas were as flattering as a potato sack, they hung from her body so loosely that it was impossible to tell that she had any curves at all.

She tried to run her fingers through her hair discreetly, but Sasuke wouldn't let her.

He brought his hand to the top of her hand and ruffled her pink locks. His face, though still showing the signs of a sleep deprived guy, was full of amusement.

She swatted him away and continued trying to smooth her hair down. "Sasuke!"

He laughed, a low rumble deep down in his chest as he leaned against the door frame, his arms lazily crossed before him.

She lunged.

He wasn't expecting her to do anything like that, so she got him. Oh man, did she get him.

Both of her hands got to his hair and she ruffled them like crazy. By the time he grabbed her wrists and yanked her hands away from his head, it was too late, the damage had already been done.

Sakura laughed unabashadley, staying close to him as he pulled her in by her wrists. He looked up at his messed up hair, from what he could see in the front anyway, and then down at her. He took in her laughing glee and he just...stared.

Sakura slowly stopped laughing. "What is it?" she asked, unsure as to why he'd waited so long before exacting some kind of revenge. He just continued to observe her, and it only made Sakura aware of how close the two of them were.

He looked like he was going to say something, but then he closed his mouth. Sakura just wanted to get inside his head and understand why he was looking at her like that, like he was trying to figure out some really difficult math problem.

"Don't ever," he started, "do that again." And he tickled her side, maintaining grip on both her wrists with only one of his hands.

Sakura wailed, her laughs bouncing off the walls in the small space. She tried and tried but couldn't break out of Sasuke's grasp as he continued to tickle her side.

A cough brought Sasuke out of his malicious attacks, and he looked up surprised that he had forgotten his own mother was standing just a couple feet away, bearing witness to the whole show.

He blushed. _Blushed_. His cheeks warming to a pale pink as he looked over Sakura's head at his mother. Then, without warning, he left. He walked down the hallway without a backward glance or a departing word.

Sakura was afraid to face Mikoto. Here she was being nice enough to show Sakura where everything was, and then Sasuke shows up and they act like she doesn't even exist, not even on their radar whatsoever.

But, Sakura knew she owed her an apology. "I am so sor-"

Mikoto raised her hand. "Don't apologize." She wore one of the most genuine smiles that Sakura had ever seen in her life. "I've never seen Sasuke so happy."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

Mikoto nodded. "He's always so sullen, reserved. I'm glad that he's met you, Sakura."

She instantly looked to the floor, paying close attention to the way her pajama bottom's extra fabric scrunched up near her feat. She had absolutely no idea what to say to this woman. But the more she struggled with which words she should have spill from her mouth, the more she realized that she just needed to speak the truth.

"He's helped me so much already. I hope that someday I can return the favor."

XXX

Breakfast was fun as it was just she and Hinata sitting on the patio with a big bowl of fruit between them. Plus, Sakura was no longer in her pjs, so there wouldn't be a repeat of Sasuke making fun of her for them.

They each had a fork that they would stab into the massive pile and plop either a piece of strawberry, banana, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, or grapes into their mouths. The fresh smell and taste of fruit always woke Sakura up in the morning, she found it much more effective than coffee.

"What should we do today?" Sakura asked, spearing a grape with her fork and then chewing it slowly.

Hinata shook her head, nibbling on a strawberry. "Does the Uchiha family do anything specifically this weekend, since their dad shuts down the company?"

"I haven't been informed of any such thing," Sakura frowned at a piece of watermelon, hoping that she wouldn't be forced to spend time with Ino, or Itachi for that matter. "Has Naruto said anything about it?"

Hinata blushed. "No...he hasn't mentioned it."

Sakura snickered at her response. "If he hasn't said anything about it to you, then what have you guys been talking about?"

Her blush deepened. "Well…"

Sakura jammed her fork into the fruit pile and pointed at her best friend. "You! You've been making out haven't you?"

Hinata looked like she was about to faint, so Sakura stopped her pointing. Though, she was physically unable to stop smiling.

"I can't believe you haven't told me," Sakura complained. "When did this start happening?"

Sakura knew how uncomfortable this was for Hinata, but she still would pry the facts from her anyway. Hinata always had trouble talking about boys, as she hasn't really had many boys to talk about, nobody serious really. Passing crushes where Hinata didn't even string up the courage to talk to them about her feelings.

But when she met Naruto, things were different. She wanted to try this time.

Sakura remembered the first time she even mentioned him to her. The two of them went out to dinner after Hinata's first day at her new job.

They picked a new place that night, not one of their usual go-tos like Papa's Pizza or Hoy's. The setting was vibrant, colorful tiles lined the walls in fun patterns, it was loud with laughter and conversation. The chips and salsa the waitress brought to their table was quickly being consumed and soon they would need to order another basket.

"Tell me all the schoolyard drama," Sakura insisted while picking out the best chips to eat. "School was full of drama when we went to it, and I'm betting that it's still full of drama. But now, you get to be a part of all the teacher drama."

Hinata giggled. "There isn't really that much to tell, everyone has been so nice to me."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Come on, Hinata. How is there nothing to tell? Not hot guys everyone is pining after? No indecent teacher summer breakup stories? Come on, there's got to be something."

It was in the way Hinata looked that made Sakura's bells ring proudly in her head, there was something that was going on, but what? She had her suspicions, but she was going to have to be sneaky about it.

"Who are the other teachers?" she asked innocently.

Hinata brought her hand up and starting counting on her fingers as if the physical motion of raising a new one with each name could keep them all in line in her mind.

"There's Neji, of course you know him, and then today I was able to meet Shikamaru, the accounting teacher, Choji, the culinary teacher, Shino, the biology teacher, Ten Ten, the metal shop teacher, and then Kiba, Lee, and Naruto, all gym teachers."

There it was, the tell tale blush on Hinata's cheeks when she spoke that last name.

"What's Naruto like?" Sakura teased, and she was awarded with profuse blushing and Hinata ducking her head trying in vain to hide it. "Gotcha!"

"How can you do that, Sakura?" Hinata pleaded, still looking down at her hands in her lap. "How did you know?"

Sakura felt mildly insulted. "One, I've known you since forever, so I know when you're trying to be all secretive, and two...see number one."

Hinata hunched her shoulders forward, slowly inching further down in her seat, but she resigned herself to speak about him, everything that she was able to learn within the span of the day.

And here they were now at this beautiful Uchiha lake house and she was totally kissing him!

Sakura picked up her fork and began eating again. "Tell me."

Hinata resigned just like she always does. Sakura thought that it was because she was just a nervous person down to her very soul and no matter how she grew up, there would always be that innocent part of her. It wasn't a bad thing, but rather an endearing one.

"He kissed me...after...our first date."

Sakura's eyes just about bulged from her head, her mouth hanging open with a bit of watermelon still inside.

"Excuse me?" she squeaked out.

There was a moment in which Sakura was greatly annoyed by this revelation. The two of them were best friends, and yet Hinata never shared anything with her willingly. That wasn't how the whole best friend thing was supposed to work.

But then, Hinata did something that surprised her. She looked at Sakura with pity, actual pity.

"I didn't want to talk about what was going on with me when you…" The unspoken ending to her sentence hung between them, just sitting there reveling in the situation it had created.

And in that space, Sakura began to fill in the blank with her own answers.

Hinata didn't want to talk about her love life when Sakura's wasn't exactly thriving? Because she was still dealing with the aftermath of such a bad breakup? Because she didn't think Sakura would have wanted to know? Because of _what_?

She bit down hard on her lip, forcing herself not to let a single tear pass from the corners of her eyes. The chair screeched when she pushed it back, shooting out of it so fast that she didn't even see Hinata's reaction to her own reaction. Sakura just needed to leave.

"Wait," Hinata pleaded.

Sakura kept on moving, her walk turning into a run as she rounded around the house's corner, heading out to the front yard. The morning dew made her shoes wet, but Sakura couldn't care less. She ran and ran until she couldn't think straight, her mind was a blank wall without a single picture hanging on it, and yet it was a canvas splattered with so many different paints that it was hard to tell where it all started.

Hands shot out and grabbed her before she could run any further. And before she would run into said person holding out said hands.

Sakura blearily looked up, panting, heart racing, body pounding, into the eyes of Itachi.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone reading my story! I appreciate every review, follow, or favorite! You all keep me inspired. :D

Chapter Fourteen

Itachi's grip was firm, his fingers tight around her upper arms.

"Where are you off to, blossom?" He smirked just like Sasuke...or, rather, Sasuke smirked just like him?

Sakura felt like a fly caught in a trap. She tried to break free from his hold on her, but only got out because he decided to let her go, rather than her being able to get away herself.

He took in the look on her face and stopped smirking. "What's wrong?" His tone was dangerous, showcasing equal hints of enmity and malice.

Sakura took a step back, not particularly wanting to discuss her friendship or relationship problems with him.

"What do you care?" she bit out, making to move around him to make the long walk down the driveway. A walk around the neighborhood sounded like the perfect thing to clear her head.

He stepped in front of her, his frame completely towering, intimidating on any other day. But today, Sakura wasn't having any of it.

"Itachi, get out of my way. I'm not playing around with you right now."

He stared down at her for a couple seconds before stepping back, opening his shoulders and extending his arm to the path before her.

She stomped past him, not giving him a second look. But what she didn't expect was for him to follow her, or even to walk side by side with her.

"I told you to leave me alone," she bit out, keeping her stomping pace up as she followed the paved driveway, perfectly groomed trees linch side.

He chuckled. "What happened to get you all in a huff?"

She was silent.

"Trouble in paradise?" he guessed, his voice filled with fake empathy.

She shook her head. She couldn't give a damn about Itachi guessing, but she didn't want him to think that this had something to do with anything Sasuke had done.

He took her reaction though as something of an agreement.

"What did my little brother do now?"

"It wasn't Sasuke," she snapped. "Get that through your thick skull."

She glared at him, her fury pouring into this one look. She was somehow grateful that it was It's hi Bessie her in that very moment as she could at least unleash the full amount of rage she was feeling. She just threw it at him like a storm.

He met her gaze with every bit of power that she threw at him herself, their eyes clashing together for the upper hand.

"Keep looking at me like that," he suggested darkly, his voice every bit of the silky thunder that always seemed to lay just beneath the surface of their exchanges. "See what happens."

She was frozen, her legs stopped working. She could only stand there and stare into his eyes, fully captivated and afraid for how his challenge reverberated through her, his voice leaving an imprint as it replayed in her mind.

He stepped closer and she had to crane her neck back to keep their eye contact connected.

"You can tell me," he spoke.

And Sakura didn't know what it was - maybe it was the way his voice dripped with actual concern, or maybe it was the way his features softened as he looked at her - but, she could feel that he wasn't messing with her, that he actually wanted to know what was wrong, really wanted to know how to make her feel better.

"It's just," she sighed, biting her lip trying to figure out how she wanted to put her thoughts into words. "Hinata's my best friend, and I'm hers. So why does she not tell me anything, she won't open up to me. I'm always the one that has to keep finding out information after it's already happened."

There it was, her reason for being upset hung there in the sliver of space that separated her from Itachi.

His face remained the same, concerned, open, intense. Sakura wanted so badly for her legs to work again as she craved more than anything to be able to take a step back, felt it deep in the marrow of her bones, but was simply unable to do so.

He brought his hand up, tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. As his fingers brushed against her skin there, her body jolted, finally she was able to move back, severing that physical connection.

He didn't look offended or even awkward that such an exchange took place. He just moved his arm back to his side, continuing to look at her in that honest, alluring way.

"You understand her nature, yes?" he reasoned, words flowing from his mouth lazily. "Is it so hard to realize she isn't one to open up that easily? I have had no interaction with her at all, other than seeing her at dinner, and yet I can see that she isn't the type of person to share."

"I know that-"

"Then why is it that you are upset?"

He took a step closer to her, and she mirrored it by taking on back. But, she didn't realize where she was and backed into a tree.

She saw in his eyes the moment he realized he could exploit her situation for his benefit, the moment when they came alive as he stepped even closer still.

"Understanding a person's difference from oneself," he started, eyelids lowering, "is what makes humanity so beautiful. Understanding someone - family, friend, lover - doesn't come naturally, but the more you're with a person, the more you get to know them, the easier it is to piece together why they do what they do."

It clicked in her head, what he's been trying to get her to realize.

And when she finally got it, she smiled, wide-grin beaming up at him.

He was taken aback as she did so, seeming frozen in his spot now rather than the other way around.

"Thank you," she said and took off, ducking out to the side of him and running back to the lake house.

But that look on his face after she smiled at him was still burned into her brain, she couldn't shake it. Surprised, conflicted, amazed. Sakura couldn't pin down what it was exactly, so she stored it away, only to be taken out when she was ready to dissect it properly.

XXX

Hinata was still at the patio table, but she was slumped over, face in her hands, shoulders slightly shaking.

Sakura stood at the side of the house, looking at her best friend in such a state. She was pulling herself together there, composing her apology in her head, so she wouldn't mess it up.

"Hinata!"

But, that wasn't her voice. Her mouth lay open just before she shouted the name, but someone beat her to it.

Naruto rushed over, kneeling before Hinata's crying form. "Hinata, what's wrong?"

Hinata shook her head, hands still covering her face.

He put his arm around her shoulder, and the other guided her into a standing position. They walked further into the backyard, down to the lake where there were some benches near the water.

Sakura was torn. She wanted to run after them, but the way Naruto was taking care of Hinata gave her second thoughts.

She shook herself out of it and ran after them. They had just sat down when she reached the bench.

"Hinata," she pleaded, "I'm so sorry!"

Naruto looked confused for a second and then he turned accusatory eyes on Sakura. "What did you do?"

Sakura ignored him and kneeled in the grass before Hinata, bringing her hands up to Hinata's wrists to pull them away from her face.

Hinata was forlorn, eyes red and puffy from crying.

Sakura had never seen her like this before, and it made her feel absolutely horrible. "I am so sorry, I'm an idiot. What I said before…" Her voice trailed off as she fought back tears. "It was selfish of me. That's your life and I don't want you to share anything with me until you are comfortable to do so."

Hinata made an indistinguishable grumble, and then a sniffle, and then she threw herself into Sakura's arms.

The two of them sat there on the ground hugging and crying.

"What happened?" Naruto said after a while, utterly confused as to how this entire situation transpired in the first place.

Sakura opened her eyes to look at him. "You take care of her," she warned, the only answer that Sakura was going to give him.

Hinata nudged out of the hug and looked at Sakura, a slow smile gracing her features. "Thank you, Sakura."

Hinata just needed to be understood, that's all it was. Her state of being needed to get through to Sakura as to why she wasn't sharing things with her. It's not that she would never have opened up to her about kissing Naruto, it was that it wasn't her time to tell it.

And who understood this more than she did?

Fucking Itachi Uchiha.

XXX

Sasuke eventually meandered down to where the three of them were. By then, the girls had stopped crying, and the three of them were talking about their travel destination wish lists.

Sakura waved him over to the group, while saying, "I've always wanted to visit New Orleans."

"How come?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke took a seat on the bench that Naruto was occupying, as both Sakura and Hinata had remained sitting in the grass.

Sakura smiled and wiggled from side to side. "It just seems so festive! The music, the art, the colors, the festivals." Anyone could tell she was smitten with this idea just from the way she gushed on about it.

"Why haven't you gone then?" Sasuke asked,

Sakura shrugged. "I haven't had the money. Traveling's expensive."

"Hear, hear." Naruto nodded solemnly and raised his hand in agreement.

"What about you, Sasuke?" Hinata asked politely, as she and Naruto already spoke about their dream destinations. "Where would you like to go?"

Sasuke was silent as he thought, even closing his eyes for a bit. When he finally opened his eyes, he looked a little confused, perturbed even.

"I don't think there's anywhere else I want to go."

The way he said it was so matter of fact that it made Sakura tilt her head. "You don't want to go anywhere?"

"Sasuke's already _been_ everywhere," Naruto groaned. "His family's been going around the world since he was little."

Sakura's eyes popped open. "Really? That's so exciting!" She could feel her jealousy flare up, but she tried her hardest to keep it at bay. "But, that has to be an exaggeration. There's no way that you have been _everywhere_ in the world."

Sasuke smirked and sat up. "You willing to bet on it?"

Sakura shook her head. "No thank you, I don't want to get involved with anymore of your dealings."

Sasuke laughed, turning to go to the house. "Come on," he said to the group.

He lead them to a random room in the house, and looking around Sakura identified it to be a sort of study. A worn leather chair sat in the corner, and an impressive wooden desk stood proudly in the center of the room. There were a couple of bookcases, but the main aspect of the room would have to be all the pictures adorning the walls.

There were so many, hundreds of photos seemed to act as the room's wallpaper, covering whatever color paint lay beneath.

She looked to the nearest one. It featured the Uchiha family just in front of an ocean. Sasuke looked to be around ten years old, and Itachi a brooding teenager, with their parents looking just a bit different than they do now.

"Where's this one?" she asked, pointing to the photo.

Sasuke replied with, "Panama City Beach in Florida."

The longer she stared at it the more that she wished she could reach out and feel the ocean for herself. "I've always wanted to go to the ocean, to see if it really do smell as salty as everyone says it does."

Sakura's eyes lingered for only a few more seconds before moving on to the next one.

"Hey, that's-"

"San Francisco," Sasuke finished for her, following where her finger had pointed to next. "It was really cold that day." His face scrunched up in distaste.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh because his expression was almost a perfect match to the one he wore in the actual photo.

Picture by picture, Sasuke explained where each one had been taken, and a majority of them, Sakura couldn't help but notice that Sasuke and Itachi appeared to have a close relationship.

Sakura felt nosy, but she had to ask. "Were you friends with Itachi when you were younger then?"

Sasuke stilled at her question. The very mention of Itachi put him visibly on edge, and Sakura immediately felt guilty for putting a halt on the fun atmosphere.

"We were very close," Itachi spoke up upon entering the room.

Sakura bristled and took a step nearer to Sasuke. Itachi looked at her and smirked, no doubt satisfied by her reaction.

Sasuke grit his teeth, jaw visibly flexing from the strain.

Itachi continued. "But then Sasuke became irritated and wanted nothing to do with me."

"You know what you did," Sasuke seethed.

Itachi raised his eyebrow. "I assure you, I do not. You have failed to tell me of my alleged actions every time I bring it up."

Sasuke remained silent.

Sakura couldn't tell if this was a joke. How could he not know after all these years? How could Sasuke not tell him?

She looked back and forth between the brothers. _They honestly can't be this stupid, can they?_


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto was apparently thinking the same exact thing. "Wait...what?"

Sakura looked to Sasuke. "You've never told him about your girlfriend?"

"What girlfriend?" Itachi interjected, voice both parts dark and confused.

Sasuke looked like he'd had it with this exchange, his eyes practically shrinking to threatening slits. "Whatever."

And he left. He just left the room.

No one went after him. Instead, the three of them turned all their attention to Itachi.

"How did this happen?" Sakura asked Naruto. "There's so much animosity between the two of them and yet Sasuke never told Itachi why he was mad at him?"

Naruto's face scrunched, his crumpling back a bit. "Don't look at me, I thought he knew."

"Explain," Itachi ordered, voice unwavering.

Sakura sighed. What a mess. "Sasuke just explained that his high school girlfriend left him for you."

"Wouldn't you know that?" Naruto asked. "Didn't you realize that your brother's girlfriend was the person you were messing around with?"

Itachi unquestionably, absolutely, undeniably didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about.

Naruto dug into his pocket, pulling out his phone. He messed around with it a bit before turning the screen and allowing Itachi to see it. Sakura maneuvered around to get a glimpse of it and instantly realized he'd brought up someone's _FindFriends_ profile.

"Hold on…" Sakura put her face so close to the screen. She was looking at a girl's profile. The name read 'Miyata Sachi' and the profile picture showed her smiling on some beach, the water in the background as the sun began to set.

It was the same girl at the bar with Sai.

"Is this her?" Sakura barked at Itachi, unable to hold her voice back.

Rather than answering, however, he turned and walked away.

Sakura snatched Naruto's phone from him and scrolled down, looking at her recent posts. Sure enough, there was one where she tagged the bar as their location from just the other week.

"Hey, give it back," Naruto protested, making a grab for the phone. "What are you doing?"

"Wait!" She turned her body, keeping the phone out of his hands. She was now looking through the girl's photos and there he was.

"Is that?" Hinata asked, disbelief in her voice.

Sakura nodded, finally allowing Naruto to nab his phone back. "Sai."

"Who?" Naruto looked at his phone, trying to pinpoint what the two of them were talking about.

"How in the world can Sasuke's ex-girlfriend be dating my ex-boyfriend?" Sakura couldn't tell if she was more angry or amazed at the awful fact.

Hinata shook her head. "And it's the same girl that caused Sasuke and Itachi to grow apart."

Sakura couldn't help but think that "grow apart" was drastically different from the brother's situation in actuality...She shook her head, _Not important_.

There was a clock sitting on the desk that suddenly chimed. 12:00 p.m.

Sakura was baffled at everything that was happening in the span of this one day.

 _How is this happening?_ she thought. _What more could there possibly be?_

As if the universe heard her, Ino came through the door. She instantly grimaced when she saw the three of them. "Where's Itachi?"

No. Absolutely not. Sakura could not take this day for much longer.

XXX

After Ino finally left the room, the three of them talked more about the brother's situation. But, Sakura's stomach eventually growled and she excused herself to go grab a snack. Naruto the proceeded to beg her to bring some back for all of them to share.

But, Sasuke was putting his jacket on when she was making her way to the kitchen. He stood by the front door, zipping up a black leather jacket.

He looked absolutely mouth-watering, and Sakura couldn't help but be drawn to him. "Everything okay? Did Itachi find you?"

The look he gave her was one of displeasure, an unsatisfying grimace really.

"Come on," he beckoned, opening the door and heading outside.

Sakura quickly grabbed her jacket from the coat closet, put it on, and followed him.

His pace was quick as he made his way to the garage. He punched in a quick code and waited impatiently for the door to open, ducking under it as soon as he was able.

"What are you-"

The sound of a revving engine cut her off and Sakura's heart instantly beat faster for it. She knew before Sasuke pulled out that he would be on a motorcycle.

He had a sleek black helmet on, the kind where she couldn't see his face. One of his arms extended out to her and in his hand was a matching helmet.

There was an awkward moment where Sasuke thought there would be a chance that Sakura would get on. Sure, she daydreamed about a guy doing this exact same thing many times in her life, but she'd never actually been faced with the real deal.

Until now.

"You put it on your head," Sasuke deadpanned, as if she were a complete moron.

"I know where it goes," she quipped. "I just don't know if I can."

He pushed the face shield up, exposing his rolling eyes. "You'll be fine, I've been driving a bike for years."

His confidence made her feel a bit better, good enough to grab the extended helmet and pull it over her head. She still remained rooted to her spot, however. Sasuke gave a short, amused chuckle, a sound that Sakura was surprised to hear after that earlier ordeal they all went through.

He leaned over, grabbing her wrist and tugging her to him. He lifted her face shield carefully, exposing her own green and worried eyes.

"I'll take care of you," he promised. "Come with me, I want to take you somewhere."

Sakura felt her face flush, so she rushed to put the face shield back down, hiding her blush from his view. He mirrored her, putting his own face shield back into place, facing forward, expecting her to get on the back now.

And she did.

The bike naturally dipped forward in the seat, making it all but impossible to not lean her entire front against him.

She tried to lean back, to give them some separation, but he just reached back and grabbed her hands to wrap them around his middle.

"Don't let go."

She could hear the smirk in his voice. And when he kicked off and the bike began to jerk forward she squeezed her arms around him hard, afraid that the action may actually snap him in two. And her legs, her legs were doing the same, squeezing against his outer thighs as if they were a lifeline.

Sasuke pushed the bike faster, smoothly making his way down the driveway. Sakura looked for about one second before she buried her helmet into Sasuke's back, closing her eyes.

She felt the rumble of his laughter as the wind whipped past.

Eventually, she could feel the bike decelerating, the wind became more calm, so she braved a look, leaving the refuge of Sasuke's back.

They were still by the lake, he was riding on a road that ran parallel to it before he swerved off, turning down a path taking them away from the water.

He stopped there and Sakura felt her body relax instantly, her arms and legs no longer strangling Sasuke to death. So, she hopped off as fast as humanly possible.

"How was that?" Sasuke asked as he took off his helmet, resting it on one of the bike's handles. His hair was perfectly mused, and then he turned to her and his whole face was alive with amusement. "I'm surprised you didn't fall off with the way you were barely holding on."

He was mocking her, Sakura was 100% sure of it. She took off her helmet and thrust it at him, hair no doubt a complete mess from the action, and not the delicious mess that was Sasuke's hair.

"Well," she said, "you drive like a crazy person."

"Hn," he hummed. "You'll learn to love it."

"Learning to love it insinuates that there will be a lot more of this…" Sakura's words trailed off as she noticed the look in Sasuke's eyes change.

He looked at her with a warm expression, making Sakura's stomach flutter with butterflies.

His hand reached out to her, open palm. "Come on," he beckoned for her to take it.

She did.

Her hand slid into his so easily that it was like a common occurrence. His fingers encircled hers and the warmth of their connected hands travelled through her entire body.

He turned and began leading them down a trail. She expected him to let her go when they got going, but he didn't, his hand firmly kept ahold of hers the entire way. It made her feel safe, as if she was finally home after a long trip.

The path was smooth, only a few hills here and there. The trees hung over them, creating a natural ceiling.

"Where are we going?" she piped up.

"We're almost there."

And he was right. They turned a corner and Sakura saw what he had been leading her to see. In front of them was the largest hill they'd encountered, wide and sturdy with a deep slope.

It was on the hill that surprised her. Someone had taken the time to place a bunch of fist-sized rocks in the shape of a giant heart on the hill.

Sakura turned to him. "Did you?"

He shook his head. "No, but I think it's beautiful that someone made this. They could have left it alone, but instead they created something to make others happy."

Sasuke squeezed her hand briefly and the act made her heart race.

"This is another one of my spots that I like to visit. Helps me relax," Sasuke admitted.

Sakura thought back to when he brought her up to that random rooftop in the city. "Do you have a lot of those places?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, just this one and the roof." He gave a slight chuckle. "You probably think I'm weird for having places that calm me down."

She shook her head. "I don't think that at all. I think that we all need things that get us through rough times. That just makes you normal. Well, as normal as you can be," she joked.

Sasuke was taken aback, but it looked to Sakura like he was playing around. "Are you saying I'm not normal?"

She laughed. She couldn't help it, the way he looked at her in fake seriousness was too much when he combined it with that question. She laughed so much that it was hard to stop, but when she finally got ahold of herself, she simply smiled up at Sasuke, the smile reaching all the way to her eyes. "You are the furthest thing from normal."

He took a step closer. "Guess that makes us a pretty good pair."

There was barely any space between them, Sasuke's presence wrapping her up and keeping her captivated. She couldn't help it, but her eyes travelled to his lips and then promptly away.

He dropped her hand, the sudden disappearance of warmth irked her.

But then, he was kissing her.

And she was kissing him back.

His essence surrounded her and she lost herself in the kiss. This overwhelming hunger for more of him swept her away completely, and she obliged happily as if her lips were the answer to his every unspoken question.

He pulled her closer to him, molding their bodies together, expanding the warmth that she was already feeling from his scorching kisses.

More. She needed more.

She ran her fingers through his hair and gasped when he bit her lower lip.

He stepped back then, disentangling from her in one swift motion.

Sakura looked at him, not understanding at all what was happening. Why weren't his lips on hers anymore? Where did all the warmth go?

"I shouldn't have done that." He bit out, running his hands through his hair in frustration as he walked away from her, back in the direction they came, leaving Sakura behind.

Leaving her to figure out how he could think that the most perfect thing to ever happen to her could have been a mistake.


	16. Chapter 16

She ran after him when her brain finally caught up to her. No way was she going to let him just walk away like that.

He had made it about twenty or so feet before she reached out and yanked back on his shoulder. A flash of surprise was soon replaced by a stoney look on his face in a second.

"Don't walk away from me," she pleaded. "Don't shut me out."

Sasuke shrugged out of her hold, but he stayed there looking at her. "I don't want to talk about it."

"We're going to talk about it," she fumed angrily. "I don't get what you're doing. Did you talk with Itachi? You were so eerily calm before, and then stupidly romantic with the rock heart thing, and now you're going to blow me off? What is going on with you?"

His fury matched her own. "Just forget it."

And he walked away without another word, without another glance. The roar of the motorcycle coming to life shocked Sakura, and she walked slowly to it, but when she got there she didn't dare get on.

Sasuke already had his helmet on, and without saying anything he tossed the other one to her.

She held it for a beat before she let it fall to the ground.

"What are you-"

"I am not leaving until we talk about this," Sakura said firmly, her voice and gaze unwavering, unwilling to move even the slightest.

A sudden rumble rolled over them, the sky becoming more gray by the second.

Sasuke looked up and then said, "Come on, we have to go."

Sakura crossed her arms. "Then you can just go without me, Sasuke, because I am not leaving until you tell me what the fuck is going through your head."

He got off the bike so fast, ripped the helmet from his head and stood menacingly over her.

In the lowest voice she'd ever heard from him, he ordered, "Get on the bike right now."

She couldn't help it, it was just her body's natural reaction: tears began welling up in the corners of her eyes and she felt her face flush from surprise and anger.

Before she realized what she was doing, she slapped him. Hard.

The sound resonating just as more thundered boomed in the background, her hand stinging from the sudden sensation.

His head turned the the side from the action, and he kept it there out of shock. However, his eyes moved to look at her, wide and questioning.

She walked right past him, making her way down the path that brought them to this place.

This time, it was Sasuke's turn to stop her in her tracks. He grabbed her by the wrist and halted her footsteps, but Sakura did not turn around, she couldn't stand to look at him.

"Let go of me, Sasuke."

"I'm…" His voice faltered, trailing off at the end.

"You're?" Sakura asked while she remained looking ahead of herself.

He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

She turned then, looking at him with fierce determination. "You're sorry for what?"

He groaned and looked away, a tinge of pink adorning his features.

"Why are you so afraid to open up?" she asked. "Just talk with me Sasuke. Let me be your support. You were mine when I needed it the other week."

Even though he needed him to talk her down after seeing Sai, she didn't think for a second that it would be the only time she would need him in that capacity, or any other for that matter.

He was there for her, and she would be there for him. With whatever it was he was trying to sort out all by himself.

"Itachi talked to me," he started. "He came and found me after I left the study."

She nodded encouragingly, beckoning him to continue.

"He said Naruto showed him a picture of Miyata," he paused. "He remembered her, recalling to me that she made an advance on him and that he shut her down right away."

"That's...good, right?" Sakura was certain that this was good, she was only questioning as to the unspoken 'but' in Sasuke's tone.

"It doesn't make any sense," he sighed, aggravated. "How did we not talk about it sooner?"

Sakura felt her heart tug at the confused and hurt expression on Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke," she started gently. "I don't think it's just about Miyata. You've said it before, but haven't you always felt like you've grown up in Itachi's shadow?"

He didn't speak.

"Maybe part of you didn't want to confront him about it so you could hold onto that feeling of hatred for him. And it's just kept building and building over the years, the rift between you and your brother growing wider." She took his hand, he let her lace their fingers together. "Maybe now you guys can begin to mend your bond?"

For a moment, he didn't move, didn't blink as he took every word in. Then he muttered out, "Maybe."

Sakura smiled at him. She couldn't help but think that Sasuke and Itachi had been each missing a piece of themselves, and now perhaps, they were going to get that piece back.

Sasuke turned his eyes back on her, his hand that wasn't entwined with hers cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking once, twice.

And then, he kissed her. It was just as the same as last, only there was less urgency in these kisses. It was slow and powerful, the smell of the forest and Sasuke meshed together to create Sakura's own favorite scent.

The rain came then, the water finally breaking free of the silvered clouds above. But it didn't stop them. Sasuke just pulled her hips into his own as the rain cascaded down, their pressed bodies keeping them warm from the cold drops.

Sakura let out a needy whimper when he deepened the kiss, Sasuke's head angling to get more of her. His tongue stroking her bottom lip, causing Sakura to open her mouth and meet his tongue with hers.

He didn't pull away this time. He didn't stop them and say it was a mistake. He just kept kissing her, and kissing her, and kissing her.

XXX

"What happened to you two?" Naruto asked from his place at the dining table, Hinata sitting on the chair to his left. No doubt he had gotten impatient with Sakura's long absence and went down to get some food for himself.

Sasuke ignored the question, instead he made his way to the kitchen, leaving Sakura to answer.

She sighed and couldn't stop the huge grin that spread across her face. "Just got caught in the rain."

"More like jumped in the lake with all your clothes on," he sniggered, looking to Hinata to see if she was laughing at his joke.

Sasuke came out with a banana and handed it to Sakura, her stomach growling as she held it.

"We should change," he suggested, walking away down the hall towards his room.

Sakura followed closely behind him and started eating her banana, pulling the peel back and ripping off individual chunks at a time to plop into her mouth.

When they arrived at her room, Sasuke smiled down at the empty banana peel in her hand, which he then took to dispose of it himself. He looked at her and for a brief moment, Sakura thought he was going to lean down to kiss her, but he quickly turned and continued on down the hall before vanishing from sight.

Sakura hung her head as she had wanted him to kiss her; now that she's had him, she wanted more. She wanted to drown in him, thoroughly surrounding herself in his presence.

She performed the awkward task of stripping from her soaking wet clothes, they clung onto her like their life depended on it, and then shivered into a warm v-neck sweater and skinny jeans.

There was a quick knock on the door, and Sakura opened to reveal Sasuke.

She couldn't help but wonder at his speed in changing. "Sasuke?" she let out in surprise because of it.

He inclined his head as asking permission to enter, so she turned and allowed him to come in.

Sasuke sat at the edge of her bed and beckoned for her to join him.

She was instantly nervous, thinking that he wanted to start something that she wasn't ready for with him.

"Sasuke," her voice quivered. "I just...I'm not ready for...that yet."

He gave her a questioning look. "What?"

She wrung her hands nervously, trying to look at anywhere but him. "I mean, I thought I would be, but turns out I'm not. And you know, you're great and I haVe no doubt that you'd be great in...I am saying a lot," she babbled with a bright blush decorating her cheeks.

He smirked, leaning over to grab her wrist in order to pull her to him. He sat her down on the bed next to his right.

He let go of her as she sat, and then he couldn't stop the slight laugh from escaping him.

"Don't laugh!" Sakura crossed her arms and pouted.

And the look he gave her was so full of joy that it stumped her, she held in a breath, subconsciously trying to take a mental picture of it for her to visit later.

"Sakura," he soothed. "That isn't what I came here to do. I came here to talk with you."

Her mouth formed an 'o,' but she didn't make a sound.

Mortified, she felt absolutely mortified. It took all of her willpower to keep her hands down as not to cover her face.

"I want you to know," Sasuke started, taking a deep breath. "I want you to know that I don't always do or say the right thing." He bit out the words as if he resented them, as if he had tried to change this about him in the past but had still been unable to do so. "But with you, I am going to try to be better."

She felt the urge to grab hold of his hand, but she didn't dare move a muscle, she didn't want to break this serious moment by giving into her urges now.

"I'm not a saint either, Sasuke. But, we'll make it through."

He had that look in his eyes again, the one that he wore just before they separated to change into dry clothes.

She wouldn't let him avoid it this time, she leaned in and kissed him. It was a quick peck, and when she pulled away he was sitting there stunned.

"If you want to kiss me, you can." She felt brave saying this. Kissing was easy for her, kissing Sasuke was a go in her mind. The more intimate stuff had to come later when she was ready for their relationship to be on that level, but kissing, kissing was something she wanted to do to him all the time now.

He remained looking caught off guard for only a second before he rushed in, grabbing her by the back of her head, sliding his fingers through her hair.

Sakura couldn't help but think that these kisses with Sasuke just kept getting better and better.

A/N: Not gonna lie to you peeps, but my creative juices haven't been flowing as much lately. I'm sorry for the inconsistent updates so far, hopefully they'll get better!


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